Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back
by FabulousxKilljoy
Summary: A young girl runs away from Battery City. She meets the Fabulous Killjoys. I'm really bad at summaries. My Chemical Romance/Danger Days. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

So this is my new fic! It's based off My Chemical Romance's new album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. All characters are property of their respective owners. I obviously do not own My Chemical Romance.

The pristine white walls were slowly suffocating her. She knew she had to get out of there. Out of that place of emotionless white and black. She wanted to feel something. Even pain was better than nothing. Maybe that was why she always hid the pills under her tongue until her father left the room, finally spitting the evil white tablet into the toilet or the garbage can.

The pills had become a standard, you took them once a week at age five, and daily once you turned ten. She had never liked them. As a child, she loved to laugh and play and sing. Once she took the pills, however, her mind told her she was content to sit around and listen to brainwashing transmissions and Mousekat cartoons. The rest of her rebelled. That wasn't what she wanted, it was what the drugs said she wanted.

She never had a name, the name her mother had given her at birth died with her seven years ago, in the fires of 2012. Her father and she had barely escaped with their lives, fleeing to the last safe place left: LA. Or, as it would come to be called, Battery City. Sure, a good half of the city was still nothing more than charred rubble, but the other half was supposedly lush and thriving. And it was.

She hated it. From the moment they arrived she hated that city. But it was for the best. They were safe now.

Her radio was her best friend. It was really her only friend. At first she could never get a signal. She would try and try for hours on end. There wasn't much else to do.

That's when she found it. Dr. Death's radio station, channel 109. She always listened to it, dreaming of a day when she herself could become a Fabulous Killjoy

That was a year ago. She was young. It's 2019 now, and she's grown up quite a bit even though she's only 15. She's had to, to keep her sanity.


	2. Chapter 2

She knew it was time for her to leave. There was nothing for her in that city, everything she craved lied outside the walls.

Nobody was home, her father was on a buisness trip for the rest of the week. She could easily leave that night.

So she formed a plan.

She'd go to the tunnels, the biggest one, the main way out of the city. No one used the tunnels anymore, nobody had reason to leave, but there were still one or two guards stationed there to keep unwanted guests like the Killjoys out.

She dressed for the journey quickly, wearing a simple black tshirt, jeans, a black belt, and white sneakers. None of her clothing had much color. She left her long curly hair down. Nothing she did ever controlled it.

She packed a bag of canned foods stolen from the pantry and bottled water. She also grabbed her handheld radio.

Then, she packed what decided between her succeeding and failing to escape: a ray gun. The cold, clean, white guns lay in her father's closet. Every household had one gun for each family member, to be used only in extreme emergencies and to be kept under strict lock-and-key by the guardian of the house. Her father never bothered to lock it though, he figured he could trust her. She stole the gun with ease, slipping it into her duffel bag.

It was then that it hit her, she was going to be free. She was going to be a Fabulous Killjoy. She was going to help do whatever she could to save this world, no matter what the cost. A strange small rush of adrenaline and anticipation coursed through her.

She looked around her room, feeling slight remorse for what she was about to do. She loved her father more than anything, but the pills had warped his brain, made him nothing more than an unfeeling vegetable. She knew he wouldn't miss her.

She turned off the lights to her home, locked the door, and set off into the strangely clear and calm night.


	3. Chapter 3

It didn't take long to reach the tunnels, the shadows kept her hidden. She saw the guards up ahead, halfway down her one way of escape. A small smirk played at her lips. They had their back to her, taking them out would be easy.

Again, she hid within the dark side of the tunnel, pulling out her gun and preparing to fire as soon as she got close enough...

But something distracted her. Was that...a car? But nobody ever came down these roads...

Regardless, she pressed herself to the side of the walls, afraid of being noticed. The guards were now out of their seats, firing at the car, but it barreled right through them, rushing past her at speeds that made her dark brown curls fly wildly around her face.

She could just make out the face of the driver. A man with bright red hair, an expression of anger and determination on his face. She knew instantly who it was from the posters of him all around the city: Party Poison. But why was he going to Battery City?

She looked back. The guards were both laying on the ground. Unconscious or dead, she didn't know. She didn't really care either.

"So much for keeping unwanted guests out..." she muttered to herself. She guessed they had expected, if any killjoys dared to go near Battery City, that there would only be one or two. Traveling on foot. She looked past the guards, to the end of the tunnel.

There was her escape...in plain sight. But did she want to just forget about Party Poison? Surely whatever he was going to get was important. Could she just keep walking? Stay safe? Quietly sneak away?

No. She couldn't. She would never forgive herself. So, with nothing left to do, she turned away from the end of the tunnel and ran as fast as she could after the Trans Am.


	4. Chapter 4

(A.N. This is a long one! And the last one I'll upload tonight. Please review. If you don't, Mikey's pet unicorn will die. Don't make him suffer through that! Oh, and for those of you who are also reading my Soul Eater fic, I will update that as soon as possible. School has kept me so busy, and I just had to get this idea out before writing anything else. Im going to try and write two fics at once. Let's see how this works out!)

* * *

Somehow, she knew they were heading to the main BL/Ind building, a large skyscraper ominously towering over the city. It took her a long time to get there on foot but once she saw the Trans Am parked in the front, she knew she'd found them.

There were no guards around. Well, no living guards. Masked corpses lay, unmoving, all across the ground, blood puddled around them. The smell made her stomach churn, but she continued on.

She approached the building, suddenly sure she was not going to find anything pleasant around her. She dropped her bag by the door, still holding her gun tightly.

It was then that she saw him, sprawled across the dusty car. Something had caught her eye and she had turned.

Jet Star.

He was obviously dead, he wasn't moving at all. Shock was the only thing keeping her from crying. One of her heroes lay in front of her, reduced to nothing but a corpse. She knew inside the building would be worse. Oh damn, here came the tears.

She turned away, wiping her eyes.

But then she heard a cough. Her head whipped around, gun pointed, trying to find the source of the noise.

The same cough. Weak, dusty, full of pain. Her jaw dropped. It was Jet.

He sat up, sliding off the car and into a sitting position on the ground, not noticing her. He coughed a little more, regaining strength. When he finally noticed her, gun now at her side, still staring, he smirked.

"Would you like a picture? It'll last longer." his voice was weak, but still filled with sarcasm.

"H-How are you-"

"Alive? I have no clue. Who are you?"

"I'm one of you. A Killjoy."

Another smirk, this one a bit kinder, "That's wonderful, but do you have an actual name?"

"Um...not really..." she looked at her shoes.

"No name? Well we'll have to fix that later." he sighed and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes.

In the shock of seeing a supposedly dead man springing to life, she'd almost forgotten why she was there.

"Where are the others?"

Jet Star looked up and pointed to the door. "Probably in there. Wait!" he stopped her, wincing as he got to his feet. "Don't just leave me out here."

She waited for him to catch up. He was a bit weak, but his strength was quickly returning.

She gripped the polished white handles of the glass doors, seeing bodies laying all around inside, and bracing herself for the worst.

She gasped quietly at the carnage around her. Dracs in pristine white suits stained crimson lay sprawled around. And the smell...it made her stomach twist. She heard Jet let out a curse under his breath. She turned to see him kneeling over a small man in a green jacket, his dark hair falling over his peaceful face.

Suddenly Fun Ghoul let out a startled cough, his face twisting in response to the pain hitting him. His eyes opened, instantly meeting Jet Star's. Jet smiled and Fun Ghoul, despite his pain, smiled back.

"Good to see you're in better shape than I am." Ghoul remarked.

"Looks like you took some hits in the arms and chest." Jet assessed Ghoul's wounds, burn marks showing through his ripped black tshirt.

"I wasn't about to go down without a fight. What I can't figure out is why I didn't stay down."

"That's what we're trying to come up with."

"Wait, we?" Ghoul looked around, his eyes meeting the girl's. She'd been watching the exchange silently.

"Who's that?" Ghoul asked Jet, sitting up.

"She doesn't have a name yet. But she's one of us."

"Oh. Awesome!" Ghoul looked over at the girl, smiling. "So how old are you, fourteen?"

"Fifteen," she replied.

"Woah. Pretty young. You sure this is safe for her?" Ghoul tried to stand, but Jet lightly pushed him back down.

"Nothing in this world is safe for her, but being with us is the closest to safe she's going to get at this point."

"I guess you're right."

Jet turned away, surveying some of the room. Ghoul seemed intent on pulling a loose thread off his shirt, but wasn't having much luck.

"Where's Kobra?" Jet suddenly asked.

"I'm right here."

The girl turned. A thin man in a red jacket and messy blonde hair in his face was sitting up, staring questioningly at her.

"Who the hell are you?"

"She's nameless for now, but Jet says we'll name her soon!" Ghoul replied from his side of the room, happy that he'd finally pulled off the annoying thread.

"You okay, Kobra?" Jet crossed the room, holding out a hand to pull Kobra up on his feet. The girl helped Fun Ghoul stand.

"I'm fine. Where's Party?"

"I can't find him."

"What!" Kobra immediately began searching the room desperately. "No. He can't be gone! Why would they only take him? Why not us!"

"I wish I knew. We have a lot of questions. But for now we're in BL/Ind territory, and it would probably be best for us to leave as soon as possible."

"But what about Party!"

"They've probably taken him to one of the three BLI bases." The bases were located in Zones 3, 5, and 6, the zones surrounding Battery City. They allowed better transportation and communication within the company. They also made travel for the Killjoys harder.

"Where's Missle Kid?" Ghoul asked.

"Dr. D has her. I saw his van before I blacked out." Jet Star began to head for the door. The other three quickly followed him. They were quiet.

"They're letting us get away..." Fun Ghoul muttered to himself.

"That can't mean anything good. Keep your guns at the ready." Kobra said through clenched teeth, trying to contain his rage. He slid into shotgun beside Jet. His eyes drifted up, to the windows of the tall building in front of him. They had taken Party. His brother. He would enjoy killing them.

The girl silently followed, wondering if she would be invited along with them.

Ghoul climbed into the passenger seat, sliding over and leaving the door open. "You coming?" he called to the girl.

She smiled. Remembering to grab her bag, she ran to the car, slamming the door behind her. Jet threw the car into reverse, speeding away. The BLI building loomed over the Killjoys as the drove away, a reminder of what they'd lost that day.


	5. Chapter 5

"Damn radio..." Kobra Kid smacked the old satellite radio with the back of his gloved hands.

"Be gentle!" Jet Star nagged.

"Dr. D is gonna think we were dusted back there. We gotta make contact, fast!"

"Patience is a virtue!" Fun Ghoul smirked.

The girl giggled.

"Shut up!" Kobra snapped, "And what are you laughing at?"

Her expression was immediately solemn.

"Kobra, calm down. You're scaring her."

"Well excuse me if I'm a little on edge after my brother just got fucking kidnapped!" Kobra yelled. Jet continued driving, oblivious to the outburst. Ghoul was frowning, but there was still mischief in his eyes.

"We're all a little on-edge, Kobra. That's no reason to be yelling at a little girl like that."

Guilt crept into Kobra. He looked back at the girl. "Jet's right. I'm sorry." he turned around and began fiddling with the radio.

After a few minutes of silence, other than the static of the radio, Fun Ghoul piped up, "So, what are we going to call her?"

The girl looked at him questioningly.

"Well it'll need to be something girly..." Jet Star suggested.

"Diamond, maybe?" Kobra shrugged.

"I like it, but it's missing something..." Ghoul thought for awhile.

"Dahlia?"

Kobra and Ghoul turned towards her. She could see Jet looking at her through the rearview mirror. It was the first thing she'd said the entire car ride.

"Diamond Dahlia..." Ghoul said it a few times, testing it out. "I like it! Why Dahlia?"

"They were my mom's favorite flower." she smiled sadly, still remembering that after all those years.

"So it's settled. Diamond Dahlia, I now pronounce you an honorary Fabulous Killjoy!" Fun Ghoul clapped loudly and Kobra soon joined it. Jet let out a whistle in approval. Diamond smiled and laughed.

She looked out the dusty windows, the sun breaking across the horizon. It was so beautiful...and only a few hours ago she had been sitting at home, packing her bags. Things had happened fast, much faster than she'd intended. But she was happy. Maybe she could finally have a real family...

"I GOT IT!" Kobra's outburst jolted her out of her thoughts. The smooth voice of Dr. Death Defying was being played on the radio. Jet whooped in approval. Ghoul and Diamond high-fived Kobra.

"...traffic on Route Guano, probably caused by the mass of dracs being sent from Zone 5 to BLI HQ. Not sure why, but we'll keep you motorbabies updated as the story develops."

"Do you think he knows we're alive?"

"How could he?"

"Shut up, both of you!"

Diamond intently listened, trying to drown out the bickering in the background.

"Now that morning news is out of the way, I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news, Killjoys. Earlier today it was confirmed that the Four Fabulous Killjoys: Party Poison, Jet Star, Fun Ghoul, and Kobra Kid were ghosted in BL/Ind HQ."

Silence as he paused. Diamond suspected he was crying, she heard sniffling.

"Just know that they will never truly be gone. Their shadows live on without them in all of you. So go out there and kick some Draculoid ass for them, motorbabies. This one's an oldie but a goodie. I'm playing this for them, it's a lovely little song about dreams. Here's 'Disenchanted.'"

As the song began to play, Kobra flicked the volume down.

"Does that answer your question?"

* * *

"...it's a lovely little song about dreams. Here's 'Disenchanted.'"

Party Poison felt hot tears of rage and sorrow sting his eyes. If Dr. Death said it, it had to be true. They were really dead. His best friends, Ray and Frank...Mikey, his baby brother...and Grace. Though Dr. Death hadn't mentioned her, did that mean she was ok? He could only hope...

He willed himself to stay strong. He wouldn't break down, not in front of Korse.

"So they think you're dead?" he heard the cold voice ask him. He wouldn't answer. He hadn't spoken once since waking up.

"At least they got some of their facts right. All of your other little friends are dead."

Party's fists clenched under the ropes binding him to the seat in the van. His fingernails dug into his palms.

"And soon you'll be hunting down the rest of your good-for-nothing group. I can't wait to see the look on that hairy DJ's face..."

Disgust for the man sitting next to him rose inside Party Poison, making him feel sick. His head spun.

"Soon you'll be under my thumb, you and all your little friends. But until then, I think we'd better keep you under control." He heard someone snap their fingers. A needle was shoved into his neck.

Fear gripped him for a few seconds, he was terrified of needles, but then cold drowsiness began seeping through him. He felt his eyes droop, his body go limp, and then darkness closed in on him for a long time.

* * *

(A.N. I figured a little check-in on Party Poison was needed. And, because I already have some reviews, I'm going to post two chapters in one day! More reviews=happier author=better, more frequent chapters. Remember that.)


	6. Chapter 6

"Well we're almost there." Jet declaired to everyone in the car. Diamond looked out and could see a small building up ahead.

"I wonder how Dr. D will take back his little obituary." Kobra thought out loud, grimly.

"Probably with as much dignity as possible." Ghoul replied.

They reached the diner quickly. Jet killed the engine, a few moments of silence passed. Nobody moved.

Ghoul was the first to speak.

"Who's going in first?"

They all looked at each other.

"I have a feeling whoever goes in first will be attacked. No doubt they saw the car." Kobra said, eyeing the diner warily.

More silence.

"Screw it all! I'm going!" Fun Ghoul stepped out of the car with a determined look on his face. He strode to the front door and walked into the building.

It took a total of three seconds for him to hit the floor.

Kobra, Jet and Diamond rushed out of the car, prepared for the worst.

But when they ran in, guns raised, all they found was a very stunned Missle Kid standing over Fun Ghoul, who was curled up, furiously swearing and grabbing his crotch.

"What th-" was all Kobra could get out before Missle screamed in excitement.

"Jet! Kobra! You're alive!" she ran for Jet and gave him a huge hug. He picked her up and swung her around as she laughed.

"Dr. D! They're here! They're alive!"

A somber-looking man in a wheelchair rolled into the room. He was clearly stunned to see Kobra and Jet, but possibly more stunned to see Fun Ghoul on the floor, still swearing to himself.

"What the hell is happening out here?" he demanded.

"The little brat kicked me in the balls!" Ghoul groaned from the floor, now sitting up.

"Not that, you pansy. Though I must say, good job Missle." Ghoul scowled, but got to his feet before stumbling to a nearby chair. The little girl looked pleased and only slightly guilty as Dr. Death continued, "What I mean is, how in the hell are you guys alive? I got several transmissions declairing you guys were ghosted..."

"It was all BLI bullshit." Kobra shrugged, "Frankly I can't see why you're surprised about this."

"But I saw you get shot." Missle said quietly. "You looked like you had died."

"I was thinking about that on the drive here." Jet cut in, "What if the Dracs were using some type of stun gun? A shock powerful enough to make the person being shocked appear dead for a good amount of time? I mean, we do have wounds," most people looked at the patch of red, raw skin under the rips in Ghoul's shirt, "but they're not standard ray gun wounds. They're like...really bad rugburn."

"It's possible." Dr. Death nodded, "BLI has done stranger things."

"But why would the do that? Why not just kill us when they had the chance?" Fun Ghoul asked.

"Wait, where's Party?" Missle asked, looking around. "Isn't he with you?"

Silence. Too much silence.

"We don't know where Party is." Kobra admitted, his voice tight, holding in emotion, "Korse has him. We think they're taking him to one of the bases."

"Damn it!" Dr. Death cursed to himself. Missle's eyes filled with tears.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning to find him. It shouldn't take us long. We just wanted to let you know that we are actually alive." Jet said grimly.

"And who's she?" Missle pointed to Diamond, who had retreated slightly and was now standing awkwardly in the doorway.

They had almost forgotten she was there. Diamond smiled slightly when Missle met her eyes.

"Diamond Dahlia," she introduced herself, "I found these guys in BLI HQ. They were nice enough to take me with them when they left."

"What were you doing at BLI?" Dr. Death asked.

They gathered around a table. Diamond told the story of how she'd run away, seen the car, and followed it. Kobra seemed impressed.

"So you just up and left? That takes guts."

"I just couldn't stand it anymore. I hated living in that city. It was...suffocating me. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. So I did something about it."

"And you're only fourteen?"

"Fifteen."

"Still, that's pretty young...you sure you can handle this life, kid?"

"If I can't survive I'll die trying."

The group sat in silence for awhile.

"So, about Party..." Jet began.

"What about him? We're still going to find him, right?" Ghoul looked worried.

"Of course. I'm just wondering how we go about finding him."

Kobra got up and rushed out of the room. Before anyone could say anything, he returned carrying a map entitled "Battery City and Surrounding Zones".

"We'll start with the Base in Zone 3," he began, pointing out marked safe houses and Drac hide-outs. "Then if that's unsuccessful, we move to Zone 5 the next day. By day 3 we'll be in Zone 7. We stop at these safe houses overnight for food and sleep. There's other killjoys in them, so we know there'll be medical help if we need it."

"Sounds like a plan." Fun Ghoul smiled and looked up at Diamond. "You're coming, right?"

Diamond nodded, "Of course."

"Well if you guys and gals will excuse me, I have a few stories I need to set straight." Dr. Death nodded and wheeled out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't see why I have to do this." Diamond groaned.

"Look, if you're going to be a proper Killjoy, you need to look the part!" Missile smiled at her. "Now turn around and face the new you."

Diamond looked into the mirror at the strange new girl in front of her.

Over her black t-shirt she wore a light, neon green trench coat that fell to mid-thigh. The coat was decorated with buttons and patches on her arms and chest.

Her jeans were now ripped at the knees, the large holes revealing the bright purple tights underneath. She had a white studded belt on with that, with a holster attached to safely keep her gun (now purple with green and silver splatters) at her hip.

Her sneakers had been decorated with bright purple and green paint splatters. On her hands she wore black leather gloves. Her hair was tied back into a loose braid, and some long curls were already escaping to hang down by her face and shoulders.

Maybe it was her teenage hormones talking, but the change of style made her feel like a new person. She was no longer the shy runaway from Battery City. She was a Killjoy. She was there to make noise.

Show Pony called it his best work.

"Darling, you look absolutely stunning!" he cooed, coming up behind her to wrap his arms around her shoulders. She smiled. With only a couple years between them, she felt closest to Pony. Over the past day and night at the diner they'd grown into quick friends.

"He's right Diamond. You're really pretty!" Missile smiled. Already the little girl felt like a little sister to Diamond.

"Thanks guys." she smiled.

"Oh! I almost forgot the finishing touch!" Show Pony dashed out of the room.

"Does he ever sit still?" Diamond asked. Missile just laughed and shook her head.

"Hang on! I'm back!" Pony rushed back into the room. What he had in his hands made Diamond raise an eyebrow in question.

"A mask?" she asked, as Pony held it out to her.

"Well you have to protect your identity somehow!" he smiled. Diamond took the mask and slipped it on.

It was bright green, with a vertical silver stripe over the right eye, and purple splatters on the left. She loved it.

"I think it really completes the look." Pony said.

"Definitely." Missile nodded.

"Hey! You guys done playing dress-up? We gotta go!" Kobra knocked on the door impatiently.

"Yep! She's ready to go!" Pony called. He hugged Diamond again. "Now I want you to stay safe out there. No stupid moves. And keep those boys in line."

Diamond smiled. "Will do, Pony." As she pulled out of the hug, she felt Missile's arms wrap around her waist.

"Bring Party back safe, okay?"

Her little voice almost broke Diamond's heart. She kneeled down and hugged the girl tightly.

"I will. I promise. Party will be home soon."

-x-

"Took you long enough," Kobra muttered when Diamond stepped out of the diner. He was leaning against the side of the building, near the door. Diamond ignored him.

"That's what we get for bringing a girl with us!" Jet called from the Trans Am. He was sitting on the hood. Ghoul sat next to him, finishing a cigarette.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Diamond asked, heading for the car.

"You're a teenage female. You possess the obsessive urge to primp whenever possible," he shrugged.

"I do not! This was all Pony's work."

"Ah. I figured." Jet smiled, "He's a good kid, huh?"

"Yeah. He's great."

"Let's go." Kobra said anxiously, coming up behind Diamond, "We hit Zone 3 first."


	8. Chapter 8

(A.N. I couldn't help myself. I just had to post two chapters today. This was probably my favorite chapter to write so far and after a bland "character development" chapter I felt like I owed this to you guys. Also, I'm in serious need of Killjoy names for the safe-houses. I already have two for the first stop, but in the second I'm going to try and cram three or four in. Names and a bit of character info like personality and a very brief background and appearance would be appreciated. You can just post them in a review. Thanks in advance!)

* * *

The ride to the Zone 3 base was mainly uneventful. They had a small clap with some Dracs off Route Guano, but it had been easy to get out of, and they continued on quickly.

All in all, they weren't expecting what would happen upon their arrival at the small base.

Charred rubble amongst metal framework was all that remained. There were burnt drac masks and melted ray guns strewn about amongst the smoking wood and metal warped with heat. It was desolate and deserted. An ominous silence hung over the group.

"What does this mean?" Diamond asked, shocked.

"It means we move to the next base." Kobra said angrily, "He isn't here, let's go."

"Hold up, Kobra." Ghoul took a long drag of the cigarette in his mouth before tossing it into the rubble, "We can't just jump from base to base."

"Why not?"

"Because we want to know who did this!"

"And I want to find my brother!"

"I agree with Kobra." Jet sighed. "We need to get going to Zone 5 before Korse can take Party any further."

"Whatever," Ghoul muttered, turning away and sighing into the ash-ridden air.

"Wait guys," Diamond stepped near a pile of smoking, charred wood. Amidst the ashes, something caught her eye. "I think you need to see this."

They gathered around her, stunned at what she had in her hand. The bright yellow mask was a bit charred on the sides, but it was still recognizeable, even when dusted with ashes. It was obviously Party's.

"So they were here?" Ghoul swallowed hard, trying to keep himself calm.

"They could still be here." Diamond whispered, looking around.

"Hold on! I think I found someone!" Kobra called out. Under a pile of debris there was a booted foot sticking out. Diamond visibly gagged. Ghoul turned away with a moan of disgust, lighting another cigarette.

"It's buried under here, someone help me!" Jet helped Kobra pull a large chunk of warped metal off the badly burnt body.

And Kobra Kid saw something he wouldn't forget for a long time.

Party Poison was barely recognizable; the fire had all but reduced him to ashes. At first only his little brother could tell it was him. His long hair, once bright red, was burnt and black, the only bit of red remained at what was left of the roots of his hair. His clothes were ruined, his burnt, smoking skin completely melted off his body in some places, revealing ash-stained bones. There was a puddle of ash-covered blood beneath the corpse. Half his face was missing, the other contorted with agony. He had suffered greatly before dying.

"No..." Kobra whispered, "No!" he screamed. Tears slipped down his face. He cried out in anguish. "NO!"

The next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake by Ghoul.

"Hey man, you okay?"

It was a dream. It was all a dream. He was in the Trans Am. Thank god. Kobra wiped his eyes and looked around the car, at Diamond and Jet's concerned glances. He smiled a weak half-smile. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just had a little nightmare. How much longer until Zone 3?"

"Now that you mention it, we're almost there." Jet replied.

Kobra could see the small white building up ahead. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the desert.

They withdrew guns even as the car approached the building. They parked it a good walking distance away, mostly to keep it from drawing too much attention. None of them had reason to ever go near a base, they had no idea what to expect.

"At this point, we all know there's very little chance of Party being here." the group nodded, "However, we'll have the biggest chance of safely searching the other bases if we get some disguises here. Once we search this place, grab some jumpsuits and masks. I'm sure they have those stocked up here." Jet instructed, "Good luck everyone. And remember, die with your mask on if you've got to."

The three other Killjoys nodded, preparing to approach the building.

Diamond's heart raced. She was really going to do this.

The moment they were spotted, shots were fired.

"Split up! Divide and conquer!" Jet commanded, sprinting towards the building as he dodged shots being fired in his direction. He managed to shoot too, taking out several dracs.

Kobra, Ghoul, and Diamond followed suit. Each running, each firing. Diamond stuck with Ghoul for most of the fight As they got closer though, Diamond could see that fighting wasn't going to get any easier.

Drac after drac poured through the front doors to the building. For over fifteen minutes they fought, until every last drac was dead or dying.

Silence fell. The only sound was the panting of the four Killjoys, trying to catch their breath.

"Any major injuries?" Ghoul asked.

"One got me in the arm. That was the most damage I let them do." Kobra smiled bitterly, clutching his left forearm. Diamond could see blood, but not much. Jet dug around in the pockets of his jacket until he found a small package of clean gauze bandages. He tossed it to Kobra, who began covering the wound while the others assessed their condition.

"Nothing major for me." Ghoul sighed, lighting yet another cigarette and taking a long drag.

"Where do you keep getting those?" Kobra asked.

"I know a guy." Ghoul blew the smoke into Kobra's face as he spoke.

"In the middle of the California desert?"

"We go way back."

"That still doesn't explain much."

"Never said it had to."

"While I hate to interrupt you," Diamond said with a gesture to the building in front of them, "We do have a base to raid."

"Come on." Jet led the way into the building. Ghoul followed, with Diamond and Kobra in the back, guns at the ready.

"I think we cleared it out pretty well." Ghoul muttered.

"Yeah." Jet agreed, "We need to loot the place and go. No doubt reinforcements are on the way."

They walked quickly through the long white hallways. The flourescent lights gave Diamond a headache. Eventually they came to a door marked 'Supplies'. They entered cautiously, but it turned out to be empty.

The white room was filled to the brim with everything they would need. Canned food, jumpsuits, masks, ammo.

"Oh cool! They even have duffel bags!" Ghoul ran over to where the bags hung in a row and took one off a hook in the wall. He went over to the shelves of food and began looking over the cans, picking out things he wanted. "Care to join me?"

They all looked at each other and smiled. Grabbing bags they each stocked up on things they would need in the next few days.

Jet sighed.

"Alright. Let's get out of here."


	9. Chapter 9

It took about an hour to reach the safe house. In that time they ate a bit, checked in with Dr. D to make sure everything was okay and to confirm that they were alive, and made contact with the nearest safe-house to make sure they weren't attacked when they arrived.

By the time they parked the car in front of the old house, the sun was setting over the desert.

The dusty car pulled in front of the building and parked. The Killjoys got out. As they were unloading their bags, a voice came from the doorway.

"You guys need any help?"

Diamond turned to see two girls around her age walking out of the house.

"Hey." the older one with bright green hair smiled at her. "I'm Emerald Breeze."

"And I'm Candy Surprise!" the younger one piped up. Her bright pink hair matched her personality.

"Diamond Dahlia." she introduced herself, "And I'm sure you know who these guys are." she guestured to the boys, who were currently bickering over who took Ghoul's last cigarette.

"Yeah. We know. It's really rare we ever have visitors, let alone the Fabulous Killjoys themselves."

"It gets boring here." Candy sighed. "How long do you plan on staying?"

"Just one night. We're on a pretty big job for Dr. D."

"Does it have to do with Party Poison?" Emerald asked as the three girls began walking to the house, leaving the boys to argue.

"Yes." Diamond nodded. "We believe Korse has him. We don't know exactly why. Probably to torture information out of him or something."

"Why can't we go on big missions?" Candy pouted.

"Because, we're too young to go at anything too big alone. I'm actually surprised you got to come along with those guys. Dr. D is pretty strict when it comes to keeping young Killjoys like us safe." Emerald said, "But once this one hits eighteen we can take on some bigger jobs." she smiled at Candy, who grinned.

By the time the boys stormed in fifteen minutes later, the girls were seated at a table in the corner, talking and laughing.

"So you're saying you took it?" Ghoul pointed an accusing finger at Kobra.

"What I'm saying is maybe you should keep track of your things!" Kobra retorted.

"So you did! I should just-" Ghoul was cut off mid-scentence.

"Oh can it you two."

"Shut up, Jet!" That came from both of them.

"Hey!" Diamond snapped, "Quit it!"

That seemed to get them to shut up, even though the irritation was still evident in their eyes.

"So," Jet walked briskly to the table and sat down, leaving Ghoul and Kobra to silently fume in the doorway. He held his hand out to Emerald. "Nice to meet you..."

"Emerald Breeze." she took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, too."

"Where will we be sleeping tonight?"

Emerald leaned back in her chair and pointed down a hallway across the room. "There are two rooms on either side. The one on the far right is where Candy and I sleep. You guys can duke it out over who gets to share. At the end of the hall is a bathroom. You can take a shower if you'd like."

"Are you serious!" Fun Ghoul cried out in excitement, "I haven't had a good long shower in weeks!"

"That would explain why you smell like a pig stye next-door to a cigarette factory."

"Kobra, shut it."

Candy laughed, seemingly amused at everything. "You guys fight like siblings."

"Sometimes it feels like we are siblings," said Jet, smiling a little. "We're one big family, all us Killjoys. "

"Yeah..." Emerald returned the smile, "I like the sound of that."

* * *

(A.N. Two new characters! Hooray! They'll be sticking around for a chapter or two.)


	10. Chapter 10

(A.N. Wow. Chapter 10. Already. You guys are so awesome for reviewing! Especially MamaLita. You're always instantly reading and reviewing, and I can't even begin to tell you how awesome that is. So, as a little thanks from me to you, I even included a little update on Party in this one. Enjoy!)

* * *

After some more bickering between Ghoul and Kobra, it was settled. Jet and Kobra would room together for the night.

After the exhausted boys went to bed the girls stayed up talking.

"So you just ran away?" Candy asked Diamond.

"Yep. Didn't look back." Diamond confirmed, "Until I saw the Trans Am. Then I just...felt like I had to follow them." she shook her head.

"Wow. That takes guts." Emerald said.

"What's it like? Being with them?" Candy continued the questions.

"It's great." Diamond smiled, "They already feel like my brothers. I've never had much of a family, so being immediately accepted into one is...incredible. I never expected anything like this to happen to me."

"Well what did you think was going to happen?" asked Emerald.

"I'm not sure." Diamond shrugged, "I guess I was just planning on going at it alone."

"That's no fun!" Candy said, "Alone forever? I couldn't ever do that."

"Knowing what I know now, I don't think I could either." Diamond yawned.

"Bed." Emerald commanded. "You need as much sleep as possible. So do we, Candy." the pink-haired girl's smile faded.

"Fine. See you tomorrow, Diamond."

Diamond headed to her room, flicking on the lights and kicking her sneakers off. She tossed her coat into the closet and turned around, preparing to sleep in her clothes. She jumped about a foot into the air.

"Ghoul!" she whispered, unsure if anyone was trying to sleep, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep." he shrugged sitting on the end of her bed, "I was thinking though...there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Look, Ghoul, any other night I'd love to stay up and have a little heart-to-heart with you. But right now I'm tired, and I'm pretty sure Kobra will want us both up at an ungodly hour."

That made Ghoul smile a little. A smirk. "Yeah. You're right. I'm being stupid-"

"I never said that!"

"Doesn't mean it isn't true." he smiled wryly. "Anyway, good night I guess. See you tomorrow." he left her room quickly.

Diamond stood in silence for awhile, just staring at the door. What the hell just happened? Ghoul had never acted like that before. Whatever was on his mind was serious.

But then the reminder or a warm bed brought her back to reality. She slipped under the covers, sleep taking her under quickly.

* * *

The young man lay on the cold steel table, unconscious. He'd been that way for the past day and a half. A woman with short black hair and clear plastic gloves was running dark dye through his hair.

"It's best to erase any reminders of his past." the bald man sitting in the corner explained. "Wouldn't want any unwanted memories to surface."

The woman nodded. "How will he handle seeing his old comrades?"

"Hopefully he won't have too much difficulty. They'll be his enemies by the time he sees them again. We've given him strong dosages of the necessary mind-altering medications. He should be fine."

"He's strong." the woman commented. "His brain's been fighting serious medication for awhile. It seems to have finally submitted."

"Excellent. We'll keep him on the drugs for awhile. In about an hour I want you to take the needles out. His training will commence when he wakes up. Did you get the files I requested?"

The woman finished running the black dye through the man's long hair. They would cut it soon, but the dye had to set in first. She took off her black-stained plastic gloves. "I did."

"And?"

She set the gloves on the table, turning to face the man.

"His name is Gerard."


	11. Chapter 11

(A.N. This one is a long one. But I've been wanting to put this up for awhile.)

* * *

To no one's surprise, Kobra was banging on doors early in the morning.

"Come on! We gotta go! We'll be at this base longer than the last one! Hurry up!"

"We're coming, god dammit!" Jet came out of his room and into the main room, yawning, his hair everywhere. Diamond, already dressed and having some coffee at the table with Emerald, couldn't help herself. Both girls burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Jet asked.

"Y-Your hair!" Diamond said through her laughter.

"It's everywhere!" Emerald managed to choke out through her giggles.

"Women..." Jet muttered before retreating to the bathroom, probably to shower and try and control his wild mane.

"Ghoul!" Kobra pounded on the next door, "I swear to god we'll leave you here-"

"I'm up! I'm up!" Ghoul yelled, rushing out of his room already fully dressed and ready to go. He looked up at Kobra in annoyance, blowing his long bangs away from his eyes. "Happy?"

"Thrilled." Kobra coldly replied before heading back to the main room. Ghoul glared at the back of his head.

"What is your deal?" Ghoul asked angrily.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Kobra retorted, "What were you doing in Diamond's room last night?"

"What the-you little-" Ghoul fumed, at loss for words.

"What was so important that you just had to go tell her right away?"

No response.

"And why didn't you ever actually tell her?"

More silence. Diamond and Emerald sat, shocked and speechless.

Finally Ghoul choked out a sentence.

"I don't know...what the fuck...you're talking about."

"Really?"

"Really." Kobra turned to look at Ghoul, his sunglasses giving him the appearance of being emotionless. Diamond knew, though, that if looks could kill Ghoul would be dead in about two seconds.

"I can't believe you."

"You're telling me!"

"What gives you the right to-"

"Don't try to turn this on me!"

"Who should I turn it on? Her?" Ghoul pointed at Diamond, though he was still glaring at Kobra with loathing and anger.

"Well I don't know, does it seem fair to blame her for your mistakes?" Kobra demanded, now standing, his voice rising with every breath.

Diamond saw Ghoul's anger falter, crack into a mask of sadness and self-loathing. But soon the rage was back.

"Don't even think about it, Kobra."

"Think about what? What don't you want me to say, Fun Ghoul?" Kobra said his name with icy venom.

"You know all too fucking well, Kobra!"

"What? You think not saying her name is going to bring her back? It's not that easy."

Ghoul's face immediately crumbled.

"I fucking hate you." he spat before turning around and storming back into his room. The door slammed with a sense of finality.

Kobra sat back down slowly and sighed, his rage drained, but his irritation remained. He put his head in his hands, leaning on the table.

Diamond sat there, stunned.

Emerald simply got up and walked out.

"What the hell were you thinking, Kobra?"

"I wasn't." he replied grimly, "I was just so pissed off. I don't even know why...this whole thing with Party has me so much more on-edge than usual..."

Diamond accepted the excuse. "I guess I can see where you're coming from. But you were still so mean..."

"I know. I just...wanted to hit him where it would hurt the most."

"And what hurt him the most?"

A pause. Kobra sat back, took off his sunglasses, and sighed.

"I guess I'd better start around nine years ago."

Diamond sat back in her chair.

"As you can probably figure, Party, Jet, Ghoul and I weren't always Killjoys. We had...families. We had lives and homes. We had a band. We were all so happy..."

He was lost in memories, faint visions of the past flooding his mind.

"All four of us had wives. But Party and Ghoul had something more...they had children. Daughters." Kobra smiled faintly.

"Ghoul had twin daughters. Party had one. My niece. They were such beautiful little girls...looked just like their mothers..."

He was too far gone into the memories. Breaking him out of his nostalgia would be impossible.

"The twins were only two when the world began to collapse. Bandit was four..." his voice trailed off.

"We lost all of them that year. The disasters took our families. Our wives. Our children. We all blamed ourselves a little but...Ghoul is so hard on himself."

The tears fell silently down Kobra's cheeks. Diamond felt tears of her own began to pool in her eyes. She couldn't imagine what it felt like...sure, she'd lost her mother in the very same disasters, but she had been young. She couldn't remember much about her mother. But the Killjoys could remember. They had lost so much more...

"Because we never had...children...it was a bit easier for Jet and I to-for lack of a better phrase-let go of the past. We've accepted it. But Party and Ghoul had lost so much...I still remember the first month after they were all gone. Party wouldn't stop sobbing. Ghoul was a wreck."

Kobra wiped his eyes. "A few years later, when we found Grace, she immediately became attached to Party. It was good for both of them. She needed a father-figure; he needed a child to care for. But I could tell Ghoul was a bit jealous. He does a pretty damn good job of hiding himself behind happiness and jokes."

He sighed, "We could tell he wanted what Party had. Someone that looked up to him like a parent. Someone who could be a daughter to him."

Kobra let himself smile a little. "I think that's why he wanted to talk to you last night. He wanted to get to know you a bit better. Establish a connection or whatever." Kobra finally looked at Diamond, running his fingers through his blonde hair.

"I-I..." Diamond tried to find something to say. Pity overwhelmed her.

"You know, Jet and I were talking and...we saw how happy you were here with other girls around your age..."

Diamond immediately saw where this was going. "No." she flat-out refused.

"You're obviously a helluva lot safer here. You'll be much happier."

"N-O. No." Diamond crossed her arms. "I'm not leaving you guys. Emerald and Candy are both great, sure, but...they're not the family I need right now."

"This really isn't the family you need right now either." Kobra muttered.

"How do you figure?"

Kobra just shook his head. "You wouldn't get it. You'd have to be older to understand."

That did it.

"Why is everyone treating me like a fucking child!" Diamond demanded, standing up and knocking her chair back. "I'm not a damn three-year-old! I've had to take care of myself for the past three fucking years; you don't think I've had to grow up a bit to do that?"

Kobra just sat there, staring at her, wide-eyed.

"Well I'm ready to go!" Jet stepped out if the bathroom, smiling, and shrugging on his jacket. His smile fell when he stepped into the main room, seeing Diamond standing over Kobra, fuming. "What happened here?"

"Nothing." Diamond spat. She stormed out of the room.


	12. Chapter 12

She sat in bed, fuming, for a good ten minutes.

Then the anger faded, replaced with guilt and shame.

"They're just looking out for you, you moron." she muttered to herself, "It's what family does."

After all, Kobra hadn't done anything wrong. He'd opened up, re-lived the pain of his past for a breif moment. Sure, he'd been terrible to Ghoul, but forgiveness for that was between the two of them.

"You damn fuck-up." she continued talking. Was she going crazy? "Why would he ever forgive you? You're just an immature kid. You don't deserve it."

A light knocking. "Can I come in?" It was Jet Star.

"Sure," she called, "It's unlocked."

He shut the door lightly behind him.

"Kobra feels like a total ass," Jet said, "so could you come out here and talk to him? He's kind of having an emotional breakdown as we speak. It's not going to get any better if you keep ignoring him."

Diamond nodded. "I feel terrible."

Jet pulled a small smirk, "Great. So does he. Now make-up already so we can get out of here."

Diamond managed a sad smile and followed Jet out the room.

Ghoul was already with Kobra, who was still sitting at the table, bent over, his head in his hands.

"Kobra, calm down."

"No! I c-can't lose them again. I just c-can't! I don't want to see it again!"

"You don't have to. You don't have to see it again. Just calm down." Ghoul coaxed, his hand on Kobra's back.

Diamond hurried over to Kobra, kneeling next to him.

"Kobra. It's okay. Calm down."

Kobra looked up, his eyes wide and full of pain and blind fear. Diamond stepped back, shocked at the wildness of his eyes. They scared her.

"I-I'm sorry Kobra." she whispered.

He said nothing, just returned his head to his hands.

"What happened after I left?" Ghoul asked her.

"H-He told me about..." she couldn't say it.

"About what?" Jet tried to get her to continue.

"About...the past. About y-your families." Diamond looked at her shoes. Kobra shuddered.

"Oh. That." there was something about Ghoul's voice, a firmness. Suppressing emotions that he didn't want to admit he had.

"I guess...thinking about that...and how everyone was mad at him...just made something snap."

"Yeah." Jet nodded.

"Kobra. I-I'm so sorry."

"I can't." he insisted, "I can't lose them again. I don't. I don't want to see!" he was getting hysterical, his breaths were coming in quick gasps. An anxiety attack.

"Snap out of it!" Ghoul yelled. Kobra looked up again.

"Just calm down! You're safe! It's all going to be okay! You're not going to lose them!"

Silence. Something had gotten through to him. Kobra nodded shakily.

"Y-You're right. I'm s-sorry." he looked over at Diamond. "F-Forgive me?" he smiled weakly.

"I-" Diamond wanted to protest, to apologize, but Ghoul just shook his head behind Kobra. Arguing would get them nowhere. "Yes. I forgive you Kobra."

The fear and sadness seemed to pass as soon as it had come. All was calm.

* * *

Another hour passed. They were finally ready to go.

"Good luck out there," Emerald hugged Diamond.

"Come back sometime soon! It gets boring out here!" Candy smiled.

"Thanks for being so awesome about this. Especially after this morning..." Diamond looked back at the Trans Am where Kobra sat in front, talking to Jet.

"No problem. I'm sure he's just so stressed right now. It happens." Emerald shrugged.

"Well, that's the last bag!" Ghoul announced from the back of the car. "Diamond! Let's go!" Ghoul called, closing the trunk.

"Bye guys." she smiled, waving to the girls before turning around and getting in the car. Ghoul joined her in the backseat.

She saw them waving back at her. The car backed up and onto the road.

"It's not too late, you know." Ghoul said, "You could still go join them. It would sure as hell be safer for you."

"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Kobra. You guys are my family. I'm not leaving you. Especially not until we get Party back."

Ghoul nodded. "Okay."

Diamond looked at him. "Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay. You want to stay with us? Awesome." he shrugged, smiling. "What do you want me to say?"

"Well...aren't you going to tell me I'm a child? That it's dangerous out there?"

"Well it is dangerous out there. But it's also dangerous everywhere else. And I'd rather have you here with us than send you back to Battery City. As for being a child, well..." he paused, thinking over what he was going to say, "you've had to force yourself to grow up. I think you're pretty mature for your age. Definitely not a child."

Diamond nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

"Does everyone understand what we're going to do?" Jet asked, after going over the plan. They all nodded in response.

"Good. Stick with each other, don't get separated under any circumstances. This base is bigger than the last."

They nodded again grimly.

They neared the base after an hour of driving. Diamond felt a little sick.

"You okay?" Ghoul asked, concerned, "You look like you're gonna lose your lunch."

"I'll be fine." Diamond nodded her head. "I'm just a little nervous."

"Don't be." Ghoul smiled. "We'll kick some ass, check out the base, search for any sign of Party, and be at the next safe house by sunset."

Diamond managed a weak smile in response.

"Do you think he's in this base?"

"Honestly?" Ghoul sighed. "I really don't know. Korse could have anything up his sleeve at this point."

* * *

(A.N. Poor Kobra...)


	13. Chapter 13

(A.N. Wow. Two long chapters in one day. You people should feel lucky, I've been busting my butt on this chapter all day. You'll see why.)

* * *

Fighting at the base proceeded like it had before. There were more dracs at that one, so fighting stretched out to half an hour of battle. The fighting moved inside the large white main room when they walked in and were ambushed by another large wave of dracs, obviously waiting for them.

By the time silence fell inside the base, the Killjoys already had numerous injuries to care for. Kobra had the most, mostly due to his love of hand-to-hand combat.

"Fucker got me with a knife," he muttered as he bandaged a deep wound in his arm. "When the hell did they start carrying around knives?" he said, mostly to himself.

"You need to watch yourself when you're fighting like that." Diamond said, treating a ray gun burn on Ghoul's knee.

"Diamond's right." Ghoul winced as the healing medication was rubbed into his knee, "You can't be so reckless."

"I know." Kobra said, nodding sheepishly, "It's just...when I'm fighting like that...I just sort of lose myself, you know?"

"Yeah." Jet agreed, treating a burn on his arm, "I know."

"It's like you can't see, you can't think. All you care about is making sure that you survive, and they don't." Ghoul spoke as if he were in a daze. Diamond felt a shudder of fear creep down her spine. She didn't want to think about things like that. She didn't want to think about Ghoul being just another heartless killer.

"You're scaring her." Jet said softly to Ghoul. Ghoul looked at the girl, now bandaging his knee, and sighed. "You know I'm not like that, Diamond."

"It sure sounded like it…" The girl taped the bandage and stood up. "Regardless, we need to go. Search for evidence of Party being here." The others nodded.

They traveled down the long winding hallways, eventually coming to two doors.

"Here's where we split up." Jet said, "Diamond and Ghoul, stick together. You take the door on the right. Kobra and I will take this one." He nodded towards the door on the left, "If you have any problems, use your transmitter. We'll try and re-group as soon as possible."

"Where did you even get these?" Diamond asked.

"The last base." Jet shrugged.

"Okay then." Ghoul nodded. Diamond simply placed the tiny transmitter in her pocket. She nodded.

"Alright." Jet looked at Kobra, who smiled a little in anticipation, "Let's go exploring."

* * *

The bright hallways continued making her feel paranoid, always wary of the idea of someone jumping behind her and scaring her. She kept her gun clenched tightly in her hand.

"Relax, Diamond." Ghoul coaxed, making Diamond jump, "You're going to blow the brains out of the first person you see."

"That's the plan." She smirked darkly.

"Diamond, now _you're_ scaring _me._"

"Again, part of the plan."

"I don't remember Jet going over the part of the plan where you scare the pants off me."

"You must have dozed off."

A bit of silence. They walked slowly. The hallway seemed to get darker as they went on.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, curious. He stared at her, smiling a bit.

"You wouldn't be very interested."

"Try me."

"Just…" he sighed, his smile fading, "What it must be like to be you. Being so young, in this fucked up world. On the run with the Fabulous Killjoys." He smiled wide at that. So did she.

"What it's like? It's…how do I say it? Interesting." She smirked at the confused expression on his face, "I mean, sure, it's not the world I would have liked to grow up in. But I got out. I stood up for what I believed in. And it brought me to a better family than the one I had before."

"You keep mentioning family. What, did your parents totally ignore you?"

"Sort of. My mom died in the disasters. My dad was so full of medication; he didn't really care about me anymore." She felt bitter tears of loss sting at her eyes, under her mask. She willed them to go away.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." A tear fell against her will. She wiped it away quickly.

Comfortable silence.

"At least you have a family now."

"Yeah. I do. I have brothers. A sister." She thought of Grace. Pony. Jet and Kobra. Even Party, though she hadn't even met him yet. "I think I even have a dad now. Well, a father-figure, more or less."

"Who, Dr. Death?"

"No. You."

He looked at her, eyes wide with surprise. They had stopped walking; now they just stood and looked at each other.

"Kobra told me how much you wanted a daughter." She admitted. His face broke in being reminded of his loss. "I know I can never replace what you lost in the disasters but-"

"You're perfect." She stared at him. His eyes were wet, too.

She smiled. So did he. He pulled her into his arms. A warm hug. She laughed a little into his shoulder.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." She laughed again, "I'm just thinking. A lot has changed in three days."

"Wow. Has it really been that fast?"

"Yeah."

They stood for awhile, both lost in thought, holding each other. Two broken people, trying to find some way to heal together.

"We should start walking again."

"You're right."

They kept on going, now much calmer than before.

"What's on your mind?" Ghoul asked.

"Not much." Diamond smiled a bit, "I'm just trying to see what the point of this hallway is. It's not really leading us anywhere."

"I don't see an end." Ghoul commented, "Wait!" he pointed up ahead, "There's a door!"

They rushed forward. "You open it, I'll cover you." Ghoul commanded. She nodded, trying the handle. Ghoul looked back, down the hallway, his gun raised. She managed to get the door open and raised her gun, kicking open the door. But the room was empty, a single light shining over a steel table, big enough for a person to lie down on. She realized, with a sickening feeling, it was a medical table. They hurried into the room, Ghoul leaving the door open, and looked around. Diamond found a chair in the corner, next to an IV stand holding two drips, the bags empty. She took the bags down and read the labels aloud.

"'BLI Mind-Altering Serum' and 'Memory Suppressant '" she shuddered, "I thought that's what the pills were for?"

"Whoever they were giving those to was obviously in no state to swallow down pills." Ghoul replied. Diamond's mind immediately jumped to Party. "Ghoul You don't think-"

"Hair dye."

"What?"

Ghoul held up plastic gloves, stained with thick dark black liquid. "Hair dye. Recently used, the gloves are still pretty wet. Only a little of the dye has dried on."

"S-So they were here. Only a little while ago."

Ghoul nodded, setting the gloves back down.

"So Party was probably here too."

Ghoul hesitated before nodding again.

"We need to tell Kobra and Jet."

"We will." Ghoul fished his transmitter out of his pocket and Diamond followed his lead, getting out her own. She placed the small white bud in her ear, hearing a bit of static. Ghoul's voice broke through as he spoke. She heard it both next to her and through the static in her ear.

"Kobra? Jet? You guys there?"

"Yeah," Kobra's voice replied muffled by static, "We found a storage room. Not much here but some food and guns. We looted it nonetheless. What did you guys find?"

Ghoul and Diamond both looked at each other, then the bags in Diamond's hand, then the gloves on the table.

"We'll explain it to you later. Meet us in the main room."

* * *

(A.N. I don't know why, but I feel like I kind of rushed Ghoul and Diamond's relationship. Thoughts?)


	14. Chapter 14

(A.N. Shall I post an update on Party after this? I think I shall. Your call.)

* * *

"So they were here. Just a while ago." Kobra held the gloves in his hand, thick black dye dripping onto the floor slowly from the fingertips.

"Yes." Diamond whispered, still holding the empty medication bags.

"They couldn't have known we were coming." Jet said.

"Of course they could have." Ghoul countered, "They know everything. No doubt they know we're here right now."

Diamond's eyes scanned the room. She had that paranoid feeling again, like someone was lurking in the shadows, watching. Listening.

"We've gotten everything we need here." Kobra said, his fist clenching on the gloves, "Let's go. We'll stay at the next safe house and get over to the last base as soon as possible in the morning."

The others followed him out the door quietly. Each was focused on their own thoughts as they made their way to the car, the California sun setting behind them.

* * *

This safe house was only a bit bigger than the last, still very run-down. Three Killjoys stood outside, waiting. The Trans Am pulled up, parking as a cloud of dust reared up behind it, carried by the wind away from them.

Kobra Kid was the first to step out. He pulled a friendly smile, despite the thoughts racing through his head.

One of the Killjoys, a girl with bright red hair, waved. "Hey!"

The oldest, a tall male with shocking blue hair, smiled.

The other, a girl with dark blonde hair standing beside the waving girl, simply stared.

The other Killjoys got out of the car. Jet went to the trunk to unload the bags.

"Hi." Diamond approached the group with Fun and Kobra behind her. "I'm Diamond Dahlia."

"Red Dead." She girl who had waved smiled. She looked about sixteen.

"Forbidden Love." The blonde girl introduced herself.

"Agent Jumper." The boy smiled and shook Diamond's hand.

"Nice to finally see a boy at one of the safe houses." Ghoul commented with a smile.

"Yeah well, I gotta stick with my sister." He put his hand on Red Dead's shoulder. She smiled up at him.

"No need to help me, guys!" Jet called from the car. They turned to see Jet carrying as many bags as possible on his back and arms. He looked ready to collapse.

Ghoul and Diamond burst out laughing. Kobra hurried over to help Jet.

They rushed inside as a sandstorm kicked in. They collapsed into the chairs surrounding a table in the middle of the room.

"Water, anyone?" Red called from the mini-fridge in the corner.

"Please," the Killjoys croaked out. Water bottles were passed around, light conversation was made.

"So where will we be sleeping tonight?" Kobra asked.

"There are some rooms down there," Love pointed down the hallway, "It's a lot like the last safe house you were at. Four rooms, a bathroom, pretty basic."

"Diamond, you can share with Love and me if you want." Red smiled. "There's an extra bed in one of the rooms, we can move it in there." Diamond returned the smile.

"Sounds good to me." She looked around the table. "Where's Ghoul?" she asked Kobra.

"He said something about going out for a smoke." Kobra shrugged, "You must've missed it."

Diamond stood up, walking out the front door into the cool night. She was immediately hit by a wave of smoke, traveling downwind.

"Sorry," Ghoul muttered as she coughed a bit.

"What are you doing out here?"

"What does it look like?" he smirked.

"Well, I mean, what are you thinking about?"

"Is my mind that interesting that you have to keep asking me about what's in it?" he laughed a little to himself before answering her question, leaning against the wall. "Just what's going to happen tomorrow."

"What do you mean? We'll save Party. Everything'll be okay."

He shook his head, "After what we found today, I'm not so sure Party's okay."

"He's strong." Diamond persisted, "He'll keep fighting them until we get there. I know he will."

"What makes you so sure? What if his mind's been damaged beyond repair?"

"You'd better not let Kobra hear you talking like that."

"You didn't answer the question."

She scowled, "I just know he'll be okay. How can he not be?"

"I've seen BLI do terrible things to people." Ghoul flicked his cigarette into the sand, where it died out, leaving a small trail of smoke, "I just don't see why they wouldn't do the same to Party."

"How can they? He's the only thing giving them the upper hand against us. They wouldn't do anything to him, otherwise we'd have no reason to go near them."

"I guess." Ghoul stared up into the sky, "I just don't see why they wouldn't try to pull one over on us. They've got more than enough reason to."

Diamond walked over to him, pulling him into a hug, "Everything will turn out okay in the end. I promise."

* * *

(A.N. Please please please please please please review. I beg of you. It motivates me.)


	15. Chapter 15

(A.N. Ah. I couldn't resist. I'm not going to wait for reviews to post this. This will, however, be the last update on Party until the Killjoys see him again.)

The man's face was composed, emotionless. He sat upright in the chair, his posture perfect. His hands lightly rested on his knees. He wore a grey jumpsuit. Without his dark hair falling in his face anymore, he could clearly see the man in front of him, holding a small stack of posters in his hand.

Now came the hardest part of training. After rushing from the Zone 5 base to the Zone 7 base to get away from those nosy Killjoys, he had finally woken up. The medication seemed to do the trick, he had little idea of who or where he was. The man with the posters frowned a bit. Would he recognize his once-friends? Would all the work of the past day be un-done? Training had all gone so well…he had to give credit to his scientists. They had truly done the impossible…maybe. The last test would prove if they had succeeded.

He held up the first poster. A man with dark hair smirked through his bangs at the camera. A red "X" through the picture, the word "Exterminate" beneath it.

"Who is this?" the man holding the poster asked.

"Fun Ghoul." The man in the chair replied with ease, his expression never moving for a second.

"And this?" the next poster was held up.

"Jet Star."

"This?"

"Diamond Dahlia."

The final test. This would either make or break him.

"And who is this?"

He thought he saw the man's face falter a bit, show true emotion, but then the unfeeling mask was back on as he coldly answered, "Kobra Kid."

"And they are?"

"Killjoys. They threaten the balance of peace. The must be destroyed."

The man smiled, his face contorting into an unnatural twisted grin.

"Excellent."


	16. Chapter 16

(A.N. Ahem. I must stress the importance of reviewing. If you like what you read, then tell me! If you don't, still tell me! I might just benefit from your criticism.)

* * *

They spent a much shorter time at this base, anxious to get on the road. For once, Kobra didn't have to break down doors; they all came out early, ready to go.

Diamond sat at the table with Kobra, letting the steam from her coffee hit her face, waking her up with its strong smell. There was a strange sense of finality in the morning that she had been trying to shake for awhile.

Ghoul sat across from her. She smiled weakly at him.

"What's wrong?" concern drifted into his eyes, his forehead creasing with frown lines.

"Nothing." Diamond shook her head, staring into the steaming cup, "Just nervous."

"You said that yesterday and everything turned out okay. Today won't be any different."

Diamond shook her head. "I know we'll find Party today." She was aware of Kobra's eyes on her, burning into her, "I just keep thinking about what you were saying last night..."

"What were you saying?" Kobra immediately looked at Ghoul.

"I-I…Nothing. I didn't say anyth-"

"You said a lot, actually." Diamond continued to look at her coffee.

"Ghoul, what did you say?"

"I said…" Ghoul paused, collecting his thoughts, "I said that maybe…the Party that we find today might-"

"Might what?" Kobra's voice was unreadable.

"Might not be the Party we remember. He might never be the Party we remember! What they could've done to him, done to his mind…"

In a second Kobra was up, knocking back his chair with a crash.

"How dare you even fucking suggest," Kobra glared down at Ghoul, who simply looked up, calm sadness in his green eyes, "that my brother isn't _strong_ enough to beat those bastards. He'll never let them take him alive; _he'd rather die then give himself or us up!_"

"You don't think I know that?" Ghoul said angrily.

"If you know that, why do you think that-"

"Because I just do, okay! We have to consider the possibility that yes-even if he _is_ the strongest one out of all of us-he might not be strong enough. We don't know what state he'll be in when we get there. If he's somehow lost himself, what the hell do we do?"

"Why do you guys have to fight all the time!"

Silence, both boys looked at Diamond, who was angrily clutching at the cup in her hands.

"Aren't you guys best friends? _Brothers, _even?" they both looked at each other guiltily. "Just try talking to each other like normal human beings for once!"

In the commotion, she hadn't noticed Jet loading the car. He came back in to grab the last bag, stopping to look around the room.

"Do you guys plan on being civil today, or are we going to have a few more emotional breakdowns?"

With that they left in a blur of strangled goodbyes and good lucks.

* * *

An awkward silence filled the car, Ghoul and Kobra refused to acknowledge the other's existence, Jet and Diamond just tried to stay sane.

"You're acting like children," Jet muttered.

"He started it." Ghoul retorted.

"Grow up." Kobra spat.

"I thought you were supposed to be the adults, not me." Diamond sighed and crossed her arms.

Jet smirked, "If you two don't stop it, I'll turn this car around."

Diamond laughed a little at that. "I guess I'm not the only adult."

"I'd offer you the position of shotgun, but I think these two would kill each other if we put them in the back seat together." Jet smiled at Diamond through the overhead mirror.

"They probably would." Diamond looked over at Ghoul, who was pretty focused on burning a hold into the back of Kobra's head with nothing but sheer mind-power.

An hour passed. Jet and Diamond continued talking to each other, but Ghoul and Kobra remained silent. They reached the base, this one much larger than the last two, with two floors and a garage for motorbikes and cars.

"Let's not bother trying to sneak up." Kobra suggested, "They know we're coming, anyway."

"I just don't want them to find the car." Jet said, swinging to the side of the road and parking. "Let's go. You all know what to do at this point. Ghoul and Diamond, stick together. Kobra, we'll try and hold them off long enough for Diamond and Ghoul to get inside. You two," he looked mostly at Ghoul, "search for Party. When you find him, try and get him to go willingly. If for some reason he won't," Kobra's face twisted at that, but Jet ignored it and continued speaking, "then make him. We've come this far, don't screw up, okay?"

They both nodded.

"We won't" Diamond smiled wide.

"What should we do when we've got him?" Ghoul asked Jet, "Just bring him to the car?"

"Since you're going, I'll give you these." Jet tossed the keys to the Trans Am over to Ghoul, who caught them, surprised. "I get to drive? You and Party never let me drive."

"Because we spent so much time painting it." Jet shrugged, "We didn't want you to wreck it and ruin our hard work. But after a month of constant driving…I think a few dents won't do much difference. We'll try and be here when you get back. If for some reason we aren't, just go. We'll catch up. There are more than enough motorbikes and vans in there. Go straight to Dr. D's too. Only rest if you need to, and don't take Route Guano, it's crawling with dracs."

Ghoul nodded, taking in the information. Diamond just looked at the keys in Ghoul's hand. Jet's talking had gotten her scared. It was such a precise plan, no room for error. But there was bound to be error. What would the error be?

"We're wasting time talking." Kobra said, snapping Diamond out of her thoughts, "Let's go."

Diamond tried looking Kobra in the eyes, but his sunglasses made that impossible. She settled for just looking at those. "Stay safe. We'll get Party out okay. You know that, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I trust you. Just…don't hurt him too much."

"We'll try not to."

* * *

(A.N. This chapter felt like a speed bump in the progression of this story. Trust me, the next one will be so much better. I'm also sorry we didn't get a whole lot of time with the other Killjoys; I just really couldn't see them being a very big influence on the story at this point. Either way, we are coming up to the climax of this little tale. How do you think it will end?)


	17. Chapter 17

They charged. Of course, the dracs were ready for them. They seemed to fight harder than they had before, probably because they knew their (and Party's) lives were on the line. It was now or never.

Ghoul and Diamond did their best to break through the battle. Jet and Kobra seemed to have it under control. They saw an opening.

"Go!" Kobra yelled. They did.

Breaking away wasn't easy, they had dracs on their tail, for awhile until Ghoul shot them down. Diamond just kept running, not stopping until they reached the white doors of the base. She turned around, shooting down the last drac following them.

"There will be more inside." Ghoul panted.

"I know. Get ready." Diamond pulled open the door. As expected, a new wave of dracs came pouring from the hallways into the main room. Diamond and Ghoul opened fire, taking them down swiftly. It seemed to be going well, until Diamond was hit in the leg.

She yelped in pain and staggered, managing to keep her balance despite the blinding pain in her leg. The burn hurt like hell as it began to bleed, running down her calf and staining her jeans. She continued fighting, but Ghoul looked at her, anger and worry in his eyes.

"Shit, are you alright!"

"I'm fine!" she ground her teeth; an involuntary tear of pain fell down her cheek. "Just focus on fighting!"

With that, Ghoul's face filled with rage. He yelled like a mad-man, taking down drac after drac with a speed Diamond had only seen in Kobra. It would have scared Diamond, had she been focusing all her attention on killing.

Within minutes, they were all dead. Ghoul stood in the middle of the room, panting, looking down at the corpse of the last drac to fall in front of him. Diamond walked over to the door and slid down until she was sitting, inspecting her wound. It wasn't bad, but it had bled a lot.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ghoul hurried over to her, examining the burn.

"I'll be fine. I can still walk. It's okay."

"I just don't want it to get infected." Ghoul bit his bottom lip in worry. Outside, they could hear the fight still going on. "There's more out there…should we go help?"

Diamond shook her head. "Jet gave us orders. Our top priority is Party. No room for error."

"There's always error." Ghoul muttered. Diamond remembered thinking that earlier. What would their error be? They hadn't run into it yet…

A door on the opposite side of the room opened. Diamond could see a long white hallway behind it, the person standing in the doorway was a complete stranger. He was handsome, with dark black hair, cropped short but still kept at a decent length. He wore a simple white t-shirt and black pants, and the same white BLI sneakers as Diamond. Ghoul, however, seemed to recognize him. He gasped.

"P-Party?"

The man only smirked.

They had met their error.

-x-

Fighting continued as it should. Kobra and Jet fought back-to-back, taking down drac after drac. Jet had tried to keep Kobra from drifting too far from him, knowing Kobra's love of hand-to-hand combat could get him in trouble quickly, especially when faced with this many dracs. It took a long time and, after sustaining several injuries, they managed to take down the last of them.

"Good job." Kobra turned around and high-fived Jet.

"We're not done yet." Jet replied. "We need to go-"

A cough. Weak, sickly. They turned, to see one of the dracs pulling off his mask. Kobra prepared to shoot.

"Wait!" Jet held up his arm. "He doesn't look dangerous."

The boy sat up, dark blood staining his white jumpsuit from the wound in his chest. He set the mask down beside him, shaking out his sandy blonde hair. He was only about seventeen. They rushed over, kneeling down beside him.

"I-I'm one of you." He coughed, barely speaking above a whisper. "Well, I was one of you." He smirked darkly.

"What happened?" Kobra lightly pushed the boy back down, seeing how much it hurt him to sit up.

"They c-captured m-me and my g-group." The boy's eyes were far away, "The r-rest of them d-died but K-Korse thought I w-would make a g-good s-soldier." He shuddered.

"They drugged m-me. Oh g-god the drugs…the th-things they made me s-see. Party's l-lucky, he was unconscious f-for his brain washing."

"What?" Kobra looked down, holding the boy's shoulders, "What about my brother's 'brain washing'?"

"It's standard p-procedure." The boy shrugged weakly, "They try and make you f-forget who you were, the people you knew…your own n-name even."

"You mean they did that to…" Jet couldn't finish his sentence over the shock and dread he felt building up inside him.

"Uh huh." The boy nodded slowly. "I w-was strong enough. The d-drugs have been wearing off on m-me for awhile. I had enough of m-my mind to st-stop taking those d-damn pills after I got s-some of my memory b-back. But they gave Party so much…It c-could t-take about a-a month f-for the drugs to completely w-wear off."

"Oh my god," Kobra leaned back, his eyes filled with tears. His brother. His idol. The boy he'd looked up to for guidance and help since the day he was born. He'd given in. He'd let them take his mind and twist it until it wasn't even his mind anymore. Kobra felt like he was going to throw up. He gave a strangled sob.

"I j-just want you guys to k-know, I tried to stop them. I tried to switch out the stronger medications for weaker ones, hold off the change as long as possible until you guys g-got her b-but…"

"It's okay, we understand." Jet shushed him, "You did everything you could, Killjoy. We're proud of you. Party would be, too."

"And I d-didn't want to f-fight you. I t-tried to take down as many dracs as possible in the c-commotion. I th-think I got a f-few." The boy coughed again, growing weaker.

"Thank you, for all that you've done." Jet whispered. The boy's eyes fluttered shut.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more…" he whispered, before fading away.

They left him lying there after a few moments of silence, walking up to the base quietly. They didn't even look at each other.

* * *

(A.N. I really didn't know how to end this chapter. I hope this is okay.)


	18. Chapter 18

Party walked confidently towards them, his hands in his pockets. His smirk was friendly.

"P-Party…" Ghoul repeated, "What did they-"

"Do to me?" Party finished the sentence. His voice was hard, emotionless, even with the smirk on his face, "They helped me Ghoul. They can help you, too."

"No…" Diamond whispered. Ghoul stood up in front of her, almost protectively. She stood up too, her back against the wall.

"Don't you see? We don't have to fight with them anymore! Everything can go back to the way it was…"

"What did they do to you, Party?"

"My name is Gerard."

Diamond couldn't see Ghoul's face, but she was almost sure he was angry.

"What did they do to you, Gerard?" Ghoul spat the name, venom dripping from his voice.

"They showed me everything I wasn't able to see before. How peaceful a world without color is. How safe it is if everyone is equal."

"Very funny Party, good acting. Now come on, let's go."

"I told you Fun Ghoul, my name is Gerard."

"It's the medication talking, not him." Diamond placed a hand on Ghoul's shoulder; he looked back at her, sadness and anger in his eyes, "Don't blame him for what they did. Now let's just get him out of here."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

They both looked at Party. He had withdrawn a white ray gun from behind him. Diamond figured he had been hiding it there the entire time.

"Why not?" Diamond calmly asked.

"Stay out of this," Ghoul hissed, but she ignored him.

"Whether you go willingly or not, we are going to help you." Party smirked again.

"It's not helping, it's destroying." Ghoul glared at Party.

"Maybe in your eyes," Party scoffed, "But your eyes are clouded by useless emotions. Once those are gone, and you're thinking clearly, we'll see how you feel."

"I won't be feeling anything; I'll just be another useless robot! God Party, what the hell is wrong with you!"

"My name isn't Party!" he screamed, aiming the gun at Ghoul's head, "That part of me is dead. Gone. Erased from existence. And I'm glad it's gone."

"You don't know what you're saying," Ghoul muttered.

The next few seconds seemed to last a lifetime for Diamond. She heard the door open next to her, saw Kobra and Jet enter. They took in the scene in front of them, Ghoul and Diamond, backs against the wall, Party aiming at Ghoul's head.

Party swiveled around, gun turned to Jet and Kobra. In his shock, he didn't recognize who it was in front of him. His brain, and the medicine affecting it, just said that colors meant enemy, and an enemy had to be destroyed as quickly as possible.

He fired.

All Diamond could do was scream as Kobra was blasted back, shot by his own brother. He fell back like a broken doll, shock and sadness written plainly in his sharp features.

Jet caught him before he hit the ground. Immediately Kobra lurched forward, his body tensing as he began coughing up bright red blood. His sunglasses slid off his nose, clattering to the floor.

Crimson colored the white floor at his feet. He was bleeding fast from the deep wound in his stomach. Blood trickled fast down his shirt, onto his pants.

Onto the floor.

Diamond felt the tears fall. She covered her mouth with her hands, the smell of fresh blood hitting her hard, making her stomach twist.

Ghoul turned around, pulling her into his arms. He looked at Kobra, at his limp, bloody body, and felt the tears fall, fast and hard.

The gun dropped from Party's lifeless hands. It fell to the floor, clattering loudly. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead; his eyes were wide with shock.

His mind raced through the drugs, trying to break free from the poison keeping him from remembering.

He shouldn't have shot him...but why? The Kobra Kid was nothing to him...just another outlaw...right? It made his head hurt.

He just wanted to go back to sleep. Back to bed, where nothing hurt. He held his head in his shaking hands. He needed some more pills, that was what he needed...he needed to forget everything...

Jet kneeled down, Kobra's trembling upper body in his lap; his legs sprawled on the now-red floor. All he did was look from Party to Kobra, too shocked to even cry.

Kobra stared at his brother, his heart breaking as he felt himself growing colder. He had stopped coughing, but his lips and chin were still vivid red. A tear slipped down the side of his face, dripping to the bloodstained ground.

From the hallway, they heard a slow clapping. Everyone looked over besides Kobra, who simply closed his eyes and cried.

Korse stepped out of the doorway, crossing the room in wide, slow strides. His smile was wicked, and his eyes gleamed with pleasure as he surveyed the scene in front of him.

"Excellent work, Gerard," he put a hand on Party's shoulder. Party just let his hands fall, staring at Kobra with wide eyes. "You made a bit of a mess, but you did your job well."

Party looked at Korse, then at Kobra and Jet, then back at Korse. He composed himself before replying,

"Thank you, sir."

Ghoul hung his head.

Diamond sobbed.

Jet looked down at Kobra.

Kobra felt consciousness finally leave him. He welcomed the calming darkness as his body shut down.

* * *

(A.N. It **_KILLED_** me to write this, you have to believe me…)


	19. Chapter 19

Diamond saw Kobra lose consciousness and gasped. No. Kobra couldn't die. But if he lost any more blood...and even now he was still bleeding...

Korse looked over at Kobra. "We can treat him." he looked at Jet, "but that would require your cooperation."

Jet looked at Ghoul, trying to decide what to do. If Kobra didn't get help fast...he knew what would happen.

Ghoul's mind screamed no, but they had to save Kobra. He nodded to Jet.

"Alright." Jet looked back down at Kobra, "We'll cooperate. Just help him."

"Wonderful. Gerard?" he looked at Party, who nodded and moved toward Kobra, preparing to pick him up.

Jet flinched a little, but let Party gather a shuddering, limp Kobra in his arms.

"He doesn't even know..." Ghoul heard Diamond whisper into his chest.

"What?" he whispered back.

"He doesn't even know...he's holding his brother. H-He has no idea he just _shot _his own _brother_."

Ghoul held her tighter. It was true. Party didn't even register that he was carrying his dying brother in his arms. To him, Kobra was just another outlaw...something to be destroyed.

"Let's go." Korse began walking towards the hallway, Party with Kobra behind him. Jet got up, taking another sharp breath at the darkening blood on the floor. He looked at Ghoul and Diamond and nodded, as if to say, "Follow him. We'll get out of here soon enough. Don't worry."

The nodded in return and Ghoul let go of her. She slid away from him but still stayed close as they followed Korse down the winding white hallways.

Soon, out of nowhere, dracs flanked them, armed with ray guns. Diamond gasped and instinctively reached for her gun, but Ghoul put a hand on hers, shaking his head.

They piled into the elevator. Diamond was sure it couldn't have been more awkward.

Eventually, they came to four doors, each marked with a different letter and number.

"You three will stay in these rooms." Korse looked at Diamond, Ghoul, and Jet. He then turned to the dracs, "Make sure they get settled alright." he smirked. "Gerard, come with me." he looked down disdainfully at Kobra, "He needs treatment."

Party nodded before briskly following Korse down the hall, Kobra still limp in his arms.

The dracs all wordlessly showed them into their rooms, confiscating their guns quickly. The rooms were all white, with a small curtained window and bed. An intercom speaker was in the corner by the door of each.

Great. She had just escaped the four white walls less than a week ago, now she was back. The dracs pushed her into the room and quickly locked the door. She guessed they were doing the same to Ghoul and Jet.

She walked around the room, limping slightly, ignoring the stabbing pain in her leg. It had stopped bleeding awhile ago, but the red on her shoes left dark bloody footprints. She didn't dare look at the floor, afraid of being sick. The wound on her leg was the least of her problems at that point.

She sighed and flopped down on the bed, thoughts racing through her head at a mile a minute. She had to get out of here. Already she knew she was losing herself. She hated white. She hated the walls. The silence. The claustrophobia. It made her mind spin. Her stomach twist.

She laid back on the bed, just wanting Ghoul there to hug her again and tell her everything would be alright.

* * *

The first thing he did when they locked the door was scream.

He screamed and cursed and yelled until his throat begged for mercy. Then he just settled for crying and pounding on the door.

It was all wrong. All of it.

His best friend had just shot his own brother, right after threatening to blow his other best friend's brains out. He'd just seen that happen.

Fun Ghoul noticed he was trembling. He leaned back on the wall, sliding down until he was hugging his knees to his chest.

He put his head on his knees, shaking with all the bottled up emotions of the last eight years.

He wanted to scream and cry and kill someone and throw up all at once.

_No_. he thought to himself, _Get a grip. You're losing yourself, Frankie_.

He laughed bitterly. "Geez. You hear a normal name once and now you're calling yourself Frank again. You're a piece of work." he was talking to himself. That wasn't good. His head returned to his hands, which were shaking again. He let in a deep breath through rattling teeth.

He wanted his wife, his Jamia. He wanted his daughters. Cherry. Lily. And now Diamond? Probably.

He wanted his friends. His brothers. His family. He just wanted someone. Anyone. Anyone with enough sanity to bring him back to earth.

Finally silent and emotionally spent, he crawled into bed, sighing, silent tears falling down.

* * *

Jet Star retreated to his room without question. He didn't hear anything from the room next door, though he was almost positive Ghoul was losing it. They probably soundproofed the walls...

He tried to run a hand through his hair and failed, pulling his hand out of the mass of messy curls almost angrily.

They had to help Kobra. They also needed to save Party. But how?

He sat down at the end of the bed, thinking.

At this point, Kobra was their first priority. He was at the biggest risk of becoming what Party had become. Jet wasn't about to let that happen.

So he did what he did best. He came up with a plan.

* * *

(A.N. Okay. I know that this was a pretty sad chapter. But during the small bit about the elevator, did you get a little mental image of all of them crammed in a really small elevator, just glaring awkwardly at the door, that light, awkward elevator music in the background? Because I did, and it was hilarious. xD Oh, and there will be two chapters today, because of my lack of a chapter yesterday.)


	20. Chapter 20

Party carried Kobra Kid stiffly, as if the unconscious man carried a disease. He looked down with disgust. His once-white shirt was now spotted with blood.

Korse unlocked the door to a large white room. There was a large medical table under a bright lamp. It reminded him of where he'd first woken up. He shuddered.

"Just put him there." Korse ordered, nodding towards the table. Party obeyed, situating the man's body until he looked somewhat comfortable. He brushed a stray hair from the Kobra Kid's bloodstained face, concentrating. He was supposed to remember something. He knew more about this person...

But it hurt his brain to think about the past. He held his throbbing head in his hands again, wanting more pills to relieve the pain.

"You may go back to your room," Korse instructed, "You can get more medication there, if you'd like."

Party nodded, "Thank you, sir." He stepped out of his room, walking down the hall briskly. On his way he passed a woman wheeling an IV down, followed by two doctors. Party shuddered. He hated doctors and needles.

The woman smiled wickedly at him as she passed. It made him feel…paranoid.

He passed the rooms holding the outlaws. He heard loud shrieks and curses coming from the middle one, followed by a loud pounding on the door. So they hadn't completely soundproofed the rooms. He stood in front of the door, straining to hear what was being said. He could hear the man's voice, talking to himself.

"_Geez. You hear a normal name once and now you're calling yourself Frank again. You're a piece of work."_

Frank. Frankie. Where had he heard that before? He leaned his head against the door, wanting to hear more, but the man was silent. Party pushed himself away from the door, sighing. He needed those damn pills…

His room was further down the hallway. He reached it, gratefully stepping into the calming white walls. It was a basic bedroom, with a window and a bathroom connected to it. He nearly threw himself into the bathroom, seeing the bottle of little white pills sitting on top of the sink, where he'd left them this morning. It was nearly sunset now, he needed to take a dose before going to bed anyway.

He uncapped the bottle, shaking two pills into his hand, "BL/Ind" printed on them in black. He looked at the pills. Something inside his gut was telling him to throw them out, to flush the whole damn bottle down the toilet. It wouldn't go away. He tried to move, tried to breathe. He couldn't. Not until those pills were all gone.

So he placed the pills back into the bottle, capping it and stepping away from the bathroom, towards his bed. Maybe that would be enough to silence the demons.

He laid down, quickly falling asleep. In his dreams he was running, through long white hallways. He didn't know what from, just that he needed to hurry, it was getting close.

He looked ahead. Kobra Kid, Fun Ghoul, and Jet Star were there. They were all yelling, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. All he could hear was his heartbeat, throbbing in his ears.

He turned around, holding a yellow ray gun in hand. He raised it, shooting at the dracs around him. He had to get out. He had to protect…something. He looked down. A little girl was covering her ears, screaming.

That he heard. It pierced him, making him fight harder. Until he unmasked a drac as he shot it down.

It was human. He felt sickened. They were making innocent humans fight for them…

A moment of hesitation was all it took for a man to push him against the wall. Korse.

The man placed the gun under Party's chin. He smirked. Party heard an inhuman shriek of rage. He recognized it as Kobra before Korse pulled the trigger.

Blinding pain and darkness. He woke up panting. It was late at night, the room was completely dark. He scrambled to get out of bed, gasping for air and trembling. He was used to this feeling of withdrawal. He barely had time to wonder why before wildly groping for the small white bottle. He swallowed two pills with ease, trembling as he slowly returned to bed.

It was the last time he'd ever forgo his medication, he'd make sure of it.

* * *

Korse watched as the doctors administered the morphine.

"We'll get him on the mind-alterations and memory-suppressants in a few days. For now, his body needs to rest. It's too weak for heavy drugs."

Korse nodded. "Alright. The others can be medicated right away though?"

"I don't see why not." The doctor shrugged.

"Good. We'll start them on that once they give us all the necessary information. It shouldn't be hard to do." Korse thought back to the girl, Diamond Dahlia, the one Fun Ghoul had held as if his life depended on it.

"I know exactly how to get them to talk."

* * *

(A.N. Very, very short. I do apologize. But a longer chapter will be up later tomorrow!)


	21. Chapter 21

Morning passed, but Diamond slept on. She shifted in the bed, trying to get comfortable despite the bright sun in her eyes.

Wait. She had the curtains closed when she went to sleep. And she was cold. Hadn't she wrapped herself in a blanket? She opened her eyes wide, to be greeted by a harsh bright lamp in her face.

"Augh!" she tried to raise a hand, to shield her eyes from the hot lamp, but her hands were restrained. So were her hips and her ankles. "Who's there? Someone answer me!"

A low chuckle in the darkness around her. It was like a scene from a bad horror movie.

"Glad to see you're finally awake."

Even after only meeting him yesterday, she knew exactly who was speaking to her.

Party Poison pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on, crossing his arms over his chest and walking towards the table Diamond laid on.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, still squinting to find him in the darkness.

He lifted the lamp up, allowing her to see more of the room. It was dark and smelled dirty. It gave her the creeps.

"We just want two simple things." Party smirked, "Names. And locations. Just tell us where Dr. Death Defying and all his little friends are. That's all."

"Never." she spat.

"I figured you'd say that." Party shrugged, "I just wanted to see if you would respond to playing nice. Seeing as you won't, I guess..." his hands drifted to rest on a small table. On a tray there was an array of scalpels and knives. Diamond felt blind fear.

"...I'll have to play mean."

* * *

Ghoul woke up with a strangled scream caught in his throat. Something was wrong. He had to talk to Jet...

And then he noticed Jet was sitting on the floor across from his bed.

"Sleep well?"

"How the hell did you get in here?"

Jet shrugged. "The dracs let me in. All I had to do was ask. It was weird, but hey, it worked."

"Do you think they'll let Diamond in here?"

Jet just looked at Ghoul. "I asked them about her. They said she was in questioning."

"Then what the fuck are we doing here!" Ghoul bounded off the bed and nearly crashed into the door. Jet held him back.

"Calm down."

"I will fucking not calm down! Don't you know what they could be doing to her..." his eyes filled with angry tears. He was crying a lot lately. Damn it. He was such a woman sometimes...

"I have a feeling. But she won't tell them anything. We know that."

"Let me go! I'll be the one they torture."

"Now how much do you think that will hurt Diamond?" Jet retorted.

"What if they drug her? What if-" he gasped, panic surging through him, "What if they make her like Party!"

"Calm down!" Jet repeated as he stuggled to keep Ghoul from the door, "I heard them talking. They're going to release her from questioning later tonight. We'll see if she can come here later."

"Oh god..." Ghoul felt the will to fight leave him. He couldn't bear losing another daughter. It was too much. He shuddered violently. Jet helped him back to bed.

* * *

Every time she refused to talk, a new cut was made. They were small, just little knicks of the skin. But six hours of little knicks amounted to a lot in the end.

Every little cut left its own small trail of blood, running down her skin until it looked like someone had drizzled her in dark crimson. Most of it had dried by the time they returned her to her room. They didn't even clean her off.

The white tank top she now wore was spotted with blood, but not much. Not until she wrapped her arms around herself. Damn it, that hurt. She returned them to her sides, the blood more evident on her chest.

To her surprise, Ghoul and Jet were there. Well, Jet was there. Ghoul was curled up on the bed, snoring lightly. The moment the dracs shoved her in, he gasped.

"Hey." she smiled weakly.

"What the hell did they do to you?" he immediately got up, trying to find some fabric he could get wet, to wash the blood off her.

He managed to find a white towel in the bathroom. He placed it under the running sink, making the water warm. When he returned she was sitting on the bed, looking down at a sleeping Ghoul.

"He wanted to go to you so badly." Jet said. She sighed.

"He really cares about me that much?"

"Oh yeah. He was willing to give himself up for you."

"Why didn't he?"

"I held him back. Letting them see his reaction to all this will only make it worse for both of you in the end."

She nodded, "I understand." She placed a hand on Ghoul's shoulder. He stirred, she pulled her hand back. Jet noticed every move she made with her arms caused her to wince slightly in pain. He remembered the dripping towel in his hands. He gently took hold of one of her arms.

"Hold still. This is gonna sting a little." he placed the towel on her forearm.

More like sting a lot. She had to bite down on her tongue to keep from cursing in pain.

She looked over at Ghoul. To her surprise, he saw awake, staring at her. Pain filled his eyes.

"Who did that to you?" he spoke, his cracked voice never above a soft murmur.

"Party."

Rage. Rage like she'd never seen before.

"_I'll kill him_." his voice broke on "kill".

"It's not his fault."

"He's letting them turn him into their puppet!"

"You think he would if he wasn't stuffed with drugs?"

They were silent. Jet moved to her other arm. The small marks were much clearer now that they had begun to heal. Thin dark scabs spotted her pale arms everywhere.

"Any word on Kobra?"

"None." Jet shook his head. "But, we do have a plan."

"Wait-we do?" Ghoul looked confused.

"We do." Jet insisted.

They talked for awhile, ironing out any kinks there could be in the plan.

"So it's settled." Jet nodded.

"I guess it is." Diamond looked at Ghoul, who looked worriedly at her.

"You're sure you're okay with this?" he asked.

"Positive."

"Ghoul, she'll be fine. They won't get a chance to do anything to her."

He looked at Jet. "You can't know for sure."

"You're right. I can't." Jet shrugged. "You'll just have to trust me."

* * *

(A.N. I can't promise you a chapter tomorrow or Saturday. So that means there will most likely be three chapters on Sunday. Have an awesome weekend!)


	22. Chapter 22

Party paced his room anxiously. He had to wait another hour before taking his nightly medication, but he wasn't sure he would make it. His palms were sweaty, his body trembling.

His gut twisted with guilt at what he'd done. He'd tortured a young girl. He'd cut her skin, made her bleed. He'd enjoyed himself. It made him sick to his stomach.

He was a monster. He didn't deserve to live.

But she had asked for it. She was a killjoy. He had to destroy her.

No. She was just a young girl. It was all wrong.

His head pounded along with his heart. He didn't want to fall asleep, not before taking his pills, but he couldn't help himself. What was one more night of nightmares, anyway? All the dreams were just that. Dreams. Lies.

He crawled into bed, passing out almost immediately.

* * *

He stood in a parking lot, vomiting his guts out.

The world spun, his throat burned. At this point he was just choking up stomach acid. Damn it, he wouldn't be able to sing well later. That would disappoint some of the more sober fans.

Suddenly he felt all energy leave him. That was what crashing did.

He fell sideways, content to lie there and wallow in his own self-loathing. He hated himself. He hated his life. Dark hair fell in his face. He hated that, too. He just hated everything.

Someone placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on." That voice. He recognized it. "Gee. It's time to get up now."

Gentle hands lifted him up, onto his feet. "He's alive!" he heard someone in the background say.

He looked at the boy who had helped him. His dark hair was short, his eyes, though clouded with alcohol, still showed concern.

"Are you okay, Gerard? What happened?" Fun Ghoul-no, he had a name-Frank asked him.

He stumbled, slurring. "Well whu happened was, I went right off th' sidewalk, and into th' bushes." he laughed, suddenly finding it funny. "And I was like woah!" he imitated himself falling into the bushes, waving his arms in front of him, "And I fucking killed, like, so many plants." the speed at which his moods were changing was incredible. That was what the alcohol did to him. He was filled with remorse. The poor plants...

"Let's get you back inside." Frank eased him forward. He must have blacked out then, because he woke up in his bed, covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

It didn't make sense. That hadn't even been a nightmare. But he had a feeling that wasn't entirely a dream either.

But if it was neither dream nor nightmare, what the hell was it?

He rolled over, still searching for an answer. The pills remained in their bottle that night.

* * *

Missle Kid sat on Dr. Death Defying's desk, tapping her fingers to the fast beat of the song he was playing.

"We haven't gotten an update from Diamond and the guys for awhile." she said to him.

"I know." he sighed grimly, "That's why I sent Pony out yesterday morning. He's gonna check up at the safe-houses and see if there's any chance they made it to the last base."

At that moment, Show Pony burst through the door on his favorite rollerskates. He tripped over his feet, slipping forward and performing a perfect faceplant. He looked up sheepishly at Missle and Dr. D.

"Hey."

Missle only laughed, "Are you okay?"

"Never better." Pony smiled and pushed himself off the floor, making a show of dusting himself off.

Dr. D remained serious. "Anything to report? You're in pretty high spirits. I'm assuming they're alright."

"The two safe houses I checked in on say they got in and out of there easily. No major injuries. A few fights, but mostly verbal."

Dr. D nodded. "Idiots. So they're at the final base?"

"As far as I know." Show Pony nodded, "And it's been confirmed by witnesses that Party is there too. They should be back in a few days."

"And if they aren't?" Missle asked worriedly.

"Reinforcements." Dr. D said plainly.

"You have those?" Pony looked at him, confused.

"Just about every Killjoy out there would be willing to die for them. It won't be hard to round up an army. We can send Cherri out."

Pony and Missle looked at each other. If anyone could convince a person to storm an enemy headquarters in pursuit of a questionable goal, Agent Cherri Cola could. She was nice, but she had what Pony called a "forceful personality".

So they had a plan. They would wait two more days before beginning to round up an army.

* * *

Within the next day they were separated again. Diamond was reluctant to go after seeing Ghoul's reaction to them taking her and Jet away.

He was like a child letting go of his security blanket. Sometimes there was no sanity in his eyes.

Once in the hall, Jet and Diamond made brief eye contact, confirming that the plan was a go.

Diamond turned to the draculoid preparing to shove her into her room, coughing. He paused, noticing she had something to say.

"I'd like to talk to Mr. Korse, please. I have some information for him."

The drac nodded, but shoved her into the room regardless.

She heard the door close behind her and sighed. What would come would come eventually. For now, there was peace.

Though, in the back of her mind, fear remained. What if something went terribly wrong? What if the wrong people ended up dying?

But she knew if she thought about it too hard, it would drive her crazy. So she pushed the fear back, opting for peace.

* * *

It was driving him crazy. He couldn't help but think about it. What if it was the last time he ever saw her-he couldn't even think it without screaming on the inside-alive?

They had taken so much from him. They forced him to run, to hide. Like a coward.

He was tired of it. He wanted to take action, not just wait and see what would happen. He didn't want to leave it to chance.

But he couldn't go against Jet. In a situation like this, with no Party, Jet took on the leader-role. Ghoul wasn't about to argue with that.

But it still killed him to think about the countless what-ifs.

* * *

Korse sat in the white office, behind his desk. Across from him sat one of the doctors.

"So what I'm saying is," the doctor droned on. Korse had stopped paying attention awhile ago, "the Kobra Kid's mind could be even stronger than his brother's." Korse's head snapped up, the doctor continued, "Perhaps even the heaviest of medication could take a week or so to even begin to break down the memory-storing sectors of his brain."

"So what does this mean?" the doctor had Korse's full attention now.

"It means maybe you should start with one of the weaker killjoys. The Kobra Kid is well enough to be taken off morphine and given an actual room. Maybe try the little girl?"

Diamond Dahlia. Torture hadn't broken her down...what would?

"It's a start." Korse sighed, "I just don't want to wait too long. They'll have reinforcements here in a few days."

"How do you know that?"

"The DJ is predictable." Korse shrugged, "Every time we catch them he finds a way to swoop in and save them. We need to take care of them before he has a chance to do that."

"Agreed." the doctor nodded. At that moment a draculoid entered the room.

"I'm in the middle of something," Korse growled, "Can't it wait?"

"I do apologize sir," the drac's voice was harsh, emotionless, "but the young girl, Diamond Dahlia requests a word with you."

Korse's expression softened, became thoughtful. Had she reconsidered? There was only one way to find out.

* * *

(A.N. Woah. Another cliffie. I'm good at these! :D Anyway, my plans for tonight fell through, so two chapters tomorrow! Now, I'm not close to the end, but I do know how this will end, and I do know that there could be a sequel. I just need to see if you guys want one. So? Thoughts on a sequel?)


	23. Chapter 23

Diamond sat on her bed in silence, waiting.

Suddenly, a knock at the door. She looked up, to see Korse enter, flanked by two dracs on either side.

"You wanted to speak with me?" he said coldly.

"Yes." She nodded and got off the bed, standing in front of him.

"I have the information you want, and I'm willing to give it to you."

"Excellent!" Korse's face brightened considerably, but there was still suspicion written there.

"But there's-"

"A catch." He interrupted her, "There's always a catch. Let's hear it."

"I want myself, Kobra Kid, Jet Star, Party Poison, and Fun Ghoul to be released immediately."

"He's no longer Party Poison." He pointed out with a smirk.

"That's irrelevant to this conversation." She retorted.

Korse thought it over. She was almost certain he would say yes, how could he not?

"No."

She looked at him, shocked. "W-Wha-"

"I said no. You Killjoys are too crafty. I've got you now; I might as well use you to the fullest extent." He turned to leave.

"But, wait!"

"There's nothing more to discuss."

"Then what do you plan on doing to us?"

Korse paused. He turned around.

"You really want to know?"

She nodded.

"Fine. I plan on erasing your memories and making you into productive members of society. And if that doesn't work, I'll kill all of you."

He left her standing there.

* * *

When Kobra Kid finally surfaced, breaking out of the darkness, the first thing he saw was Fun Ghoul, worriedly staring at him.

"Ghoul?" he tried to sit up, "Where the hell are we?"

"Kobra! Oh thank god. They didn't drug you." Ghoul rushed forward, hugging his friend gently. "I was sure they put you in here to kill me."

"Kill you? Why would I ever do that?"

"Wait-" Ghoul looked at Kobra again, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Kobra strained, searching his memory. "Jet and I. We entered the base and…that's all I've got. After that it's just a mix of white and black." He placed a hand on his stomach, which was now wrapped in bandages. "What happened to me?"

"Y-You were shot."

"By who?"

Ghoul swallowed hard. Should he tell him the truth?

"P-Party."

Kobra didn't move, didn't speak. Why had his own brother shot him? He felt a cold sweat break out on his body, making his palms clammy. "Why did my own brother shoot me?" his voice was emotionless, hard, choking back feelings he didn't want to face.

"He thought you h-had to be-"

"Killed? Why?" Kobra spat.

"They made him into a-a...well not a drac, per-se, but something along the lines of that."

"How? Meds?"

"Yeah. Lot's of them."

"Oh yeah. I remember now."

Ghoul just nodded. Kobra sighed. "Where's Diamond? And Jet?"

"Separate rooms." Ghoul's voice was small. "Don't ask me why. Sometimes they put us together, sometimes they keep us apart."

"What happened while I was out? How many days has it been?"

Ghoul thought about that. "Two, I think. We've mostly just sat here. Diamond was-um-questioned a bit yesterday." He had to force the anger out of his voice, "But she didn't give away anything. For now Jet and I do have a plan."

"Am I allowed to hear it?"

Ghoul smiled. "Sure. Diamond's going to go to Korse, give him false information on where Dr. D is hiding in exchange for our freedom. We'll get out of here by the end of the day if she succeeds."

"And if she doesn't?"

"We haven't gotten that far yet."

"Don't you think it's important to know what we're going to do if-oh I don't know- Korse doesn't take the deal?"

"Look, Jet and I are thinking about that!"

"_Really?_ Because it seems like you've just been here, wallowing in your own self-pity!"

That shut Ghoul up. His angry eyes filled with hot tears, though he wished with all his heart they would go away. Then he sighed, his face drained of anger, replaced with sadness.

After wiping his eyes he said, "I'm tired of fighting."

"Me too."

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"I'd go so far as to say we're brothers."

"Then what are we doing, arguing over something like this? It seems like every time we try to talk, we just end up screaming at each other."

"That's what brothers do sometimes." Kobra smiled bitterly, "I remember, when we were teenagers, there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't have some sort of argument with Gerard. It just happens when you're with someone for that long. We'd fight for hours sometimes, just giving each other the silent treatment or whispering passing insults at each other until one of us snapped. Then we'd get physical and our parents would have to pry us off each other, screaming and swearing. It was madness." Kobra laughed a little, "But he's my brother. And I love him. And I wouldn't trade him for anyone else."

Ghoul looked at Kobra. The man's sad eyes were far away, thinking of his brother.

"We're gonna get him back, right? He'll be back to normal soon, won't he?"

"We will get him back." Ghoul said, determined, "But it's hard to say how he'll react to being taken off medication."

"We found another Killjoy."

"You what?"

"He had regained his memory after going through the same meds as Party. If he can do it…"

"Then there's hope."

"Yeah. Hope."

"When'd you find this kid?"

"After the fight. He'd been made into a drac, but his memory kicked back in and he tried to fight on our side. He died."

"Oh. No name?"

"If he had one, he didn't tell it to us."

"Damn. I was gonna tell Dr. D to announce it."

"There's no need. It was probably announced when the rest of his team died."

"You mean he was the last in his group?"

"Yeah. Only about seventeen, by the looks of it. Though he was probably younger. Being in this world ages you fast."

"It does." Ghoul thought of Diamond, so mature, the mind of an adult in the body of a child. This wasn't the right place for her.

"We should see if we can get Jet in here."

"Yeah, you stay in bed. I'll go knock. The dracs outside will hear."

"Can they hear what we're saying?"

"Maybe." Ghoul shrugged as he stood up, heading for the door, "So what? We're in the middle of BLI. There are no secrets here."

He knocked twice, a drac opened the door.

"Can we see Jet Star?"

The drac shook his head.

"Why not?"

"He's currently talking to Korse." The drac forced the door shut, locking it.

Kobra had heard everything. "Why is he talking to Korse? Wasn't that Diamond's job?"

Ghoul just stared at Kobra, eyes wide.

"It was. That means something's gone wrong."

* * *

(A.N. Ohgeez. The second chapter for the day will be up later. I'll try to update during the week, no guarantees! School is going to be keeping me pretty busy and, unfortunately, I need to put my grades before my writing for awhile.)


	24. Chapter 24

Jet star woke up in the bright room. He was sitting in a chair, his wrists bound at his back. At a quick glance around he noticed three empty chairs next to him. He tried to remember what had gotten him there.

He had gone to Korse's office, escorted by dracs of course, after being called down. He'd walkied in, Korse had smiled at him, then…

Nothing. Just black and a sharp pain in the back of his head. At least they hadn't drugged him. A small mercy.

He looked around the room again, this time slowly. In the far corner of the room there was a door, blocked by a man with dark hair.

"Hello Jet Star," Party Poison was leaning against the door, absentmindedly playing with the white ray gun in his hands.

"Party, I don't know what the hell you're trying to prove but I'm not going to talk-"

"Whoa. Slow down there. Who said anything about making you talk?" Party smirked, "I had a completely different plan."

"Care to explain it?"

"Might as well. In a little bit the rest of your friends will show up here."

"Why?"

"To keep you contained and monitored until Dr. Death Defying and his team of reinforcements can show up. You see, Korse figures it's better to just wipe you out completely rather than try to make you into productive members of society. So I've been assigned to keep you here; to prevent you from escaping and to ensure that Dr. Death still has good reason for coming here."

It didn't really shock Jet. It was expected of Korse to try and destroy as many Killjoys as possible at one time. Very efficient. Very BL/Ind.

"So when will the others get here?"

Party scoffed. "I wasn't expecting you to be so blasé. It really takes the fun out of everything. Though it does fit your title. Killjoy." He pushed himself off the door, moving to stand in front of Jet.

"To answer your question, any minute now."


	25. Chapter 25

Diamond anxiously paced her room. There was little else to do but think, and sitting would only make her more anxious. She looked down at her arm, bare aside from the short sleeve of her t-shirt. Her trench coat had been taken off before her interrogation. She had no idea where it was, but she assumed it was being burned.

She shuddered, thinking of the terrors she'd already faced, and the ones coming.

The deepest of the little cuts would no doubt scar, but she was sure most would fade over time. Her leg was another story. Though the doctors had given her some bandages and antiseptic to apply herself, she couldn't help but think something was wrong. She was still limping badly (the walking didn't help that) and she noticed it was still bleeding slightly whenever she changed the bandage.

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. Without waiting for an answer a drac burst in, immediately binding her hands behind her back. She fought and cursed, but he was too strong and she was forced out of the room and into the hallway.

She saw Ghoul and-to her relief-Kobra, who looked irritated but otherwise unharmed. They were in the same situation as her. The dracs forced them wordlessly down twisting, turning hallways, before reaching a small white room.

They pushed the Killjoys in. Diamond saw Jet, who looked at Kobra, surprised to see him. He was sitting in front of a man with short black hair. Diamond knew who it was before he turned around.

"Put them in those chairs." Party Poison ordered the dracs. They obeyed, shoving the Killjoys into their seats. Kobra was on Jet's left side, Ghoul was next to Kobra. Diamond was on Jet's other side. She noticed they'd put Ghoul as far away from her as possible.

"I suppose you want to know why you're here," Party began, appearing to be a bit bored.

"Yeah, that'd be a helpful bit of information." Ghoul spat.

"You shut up." Party gripped his gun tighter, "I nearly blew your brains out once, don't make me actually do it."

That did shut Ghoul up.

"As I was saying," Party continued, "You've been brought here to be contained until Dr. Death and his little army comes to rescue you. We have to monitor you, so you don't try to make any more plans against us."

"And what happens if Dr. D never comes?"

"He will. You see, these three," he gestured with the gun to Ghoul, Jet, and Kobra, who fliched violently at a gun being pointed at him, "are his personal favorites. He'll do anything to keep them around."

He was right. Diamond hated to admit it, but he was right.

A knock at the door. A drac walked in.

"Korse would like to have a word with you." Party nodded and put his gun away. He followed the drac out.

"So they're just gonna leave us?" Kobra said, eyeing the door.

"Who cares?" Ghoul looked at Jet, "What do we do now?"

"We find some way out of here before tomorrow." Jet replied, "Tonight, if possible."

"And that way would be…?" Diamond's question trailed off.

"Give me some time, I'm thinking."

Party walked back in, gun drawn.

"I have some wonderful news."

* * *

(A.N. Next chapter will be the last one of the day! You don't know how good it feels to put this up. I've been waiting to share the rest of the story with you guys. :3)


	26. Chapter 26

(Long one, to make up for the past two short ones! Enjoy!)

* * *

Party poison adjusted his posture, raising his arm and taking aim with the pristine white gun at Ghoul's head. When he spoke, it was to the whole group.

"You have all been accused and proven guilty of slander and violence against Better Living Industries. As punishment, and to set an example, you are to be killed immediately."

"What!" Diamond yelled, struggling against the binding on her wrist.

Kobra spoke up, his voice shaken and angry, "What the fuck happened to waiting for Dr. D to get here?"

Party's cold, angry expression never moved. "Change in plans. As long as he thinks you're here, he'll come."

"You can't know for sure," Ghoul's voice was quiet.

"I think we'll take our chances." Party smirked a bit and gripped the gun harder, "And last words, Fun Ghoul?"

Ghoul swallowed hard and looked over at Diamond. She looked back at him, panic and fear in her eyes. He had to try and stop this. He had to reach Party, had to at least try before Party pulled the trigger.

"You don't want to do this, Party." He said, almost desperately.

"Oh, don't I?"

"No," Ghoul shook his head, "Not the Party I know."

"And which Party would that be?" Party's smirk was growing amused.

"The one who wasn't messed up because of some twisted pills. The one whose memory wasn't sucked out of his brain with needles and serums. The one I would stay up all night and write songs with over a few beers and a pack of cigarettes. The one I had a band with. The one who was my best friend." Ghoul was desperate, scrambling for words.

Party considered the words. Ghoul could see in his hazel eyes that his mind was racing, trying to make sense of it all.

His smirk returned. Ghoul's heart sank. "That might be the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."

He pulled the trigger. But his hand slipped.

Kobra had jumped up in a second, throwing all his strength and momentum into his brother, knocking him back with his shoulder like a football player. He had managed to get his hands free. But how-

Jet looked down and saw the knife behind Kobra's chair, still shaking after being dropped on the col linoleum.

Party hit the ground on his back. He gave a loud cry as the air was knocked out of him. The gun clattered to the floor a few feet away from him. He looked up at Kobra, who was still standing, as he coughed and gasped for air.

Ghoul looked at Kobra's back, still staring. The left side of his hair was still smoking from the shot passing through it, but other than that he was fine. He could smell the burnt ends of his hair and his nose wrinkled. "K-Kobra-"

"The fuckers started carrying knives; I figured I might as well. They didn't search me for any weapons beside my gun. These are my old pants. The knife was still in them."

"Wow," Jet breathed, "I knew you were fast but…_damn_ Kobra…"

Kobra just glared down at the thing with his brother's face. This wasn't Party, couldn't be Party until he was off the BLI drugs. Now he was just another lackey for Korse. So it didn't make Kobra feel guilty for kicking him in his side as he coughed. Party gave a cry and doubled over.

"G-God damn it you're f-fast-"

"Shut up." Kobra kicked him again and Party gave another yell.

Diamond saw Kobra absentmindedly rubbing his wrists. She saw the smallest bit of blood on his fingers.

"Kobra…" she began softly. He turned to look at her, saw what she was staring at.

"Oh. These. I nicked myself a few times. No big deal." His voice was distant, his mind somewhere else.

"Yes well that's all fine and dandy but, as you can see, _we are all still in these damn chairs_. And what are we gonna do about him?" Ghoul nodded at Party, who was now breathing deeply and glaring at Kobra, though his eyes darted to the gun laying a few feet away.

Kobra saw what he was thinking easily and strode over, picking up the gun, unloading it to be safe and placing the ammo in his pocket. He set the gun down on his empty chair and bent down to pick up the knife. He then went around and cut his friends loose. Once they were free, they stood up and stretched.

Party just sat there, glaring at them. How had he lost the upper hand so quickly?

Kobra and Jet were standing in front of Party. Diamond immediately went to Ghoul.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

She couldn't help herself. She laughed out loud. Half his head looked as though a two-year-old had cut it.

"What's so funny?"

"Your hair!" she snorted through giggles.

Ghoul raised a worried hand. "Crap! I'm gonna have to cut it!"

"You might as well just shave it all off." Jet looked back, smirking.

"No. Don't shave it." Diamond shook her head, "Cut it short, but no shaving."

"Hey, you're a girl, so I'm gonna trust you on this."

"Thanks. And great observational skills."

"So what are we gonna do about him?" Ghoul nodded at Party, making his way to stand next to Kobra. Diamond followed him.

"I dunno." Kobra shrugged, "Take him with us when we leave I guess."

"Kicking and screaming, no doubt." Jet muttered.

"Well," Diamond sighed, "First we need to get out of here."


	27. Chapter 27

Party snarled. "If you think I'm going to let you-"

"Oh save it." Jet interrupted, rolling his eyes.

"You're like a broken record," muttered Diamond.

Party glared up at them. They were the reason his head hurt so much. God, the pain was awful. Like someone was beating his brains with hammer. The meds were wearing off faster than usual today…

His fingers were twitching. Dammit. He put a shaking hand on his forehead, using the other to hold himself upright. Why couldn't the pain just stop? And where were the damn dracs? Did normal execution take this long? Did the really expect him to torture his own-

Had he almostcalled them _friends?_ These weren't friends, these were criminals!

But their voices seemed so familiar…

No, _no!_ He was losing it. He didn't know anything about these people, besides their names and their crimes.

He needed meds desperately. He hadn't taken enough to last him the whole day. He didn't like feeling, emotions made him weak. He liked feeling nothing.

He stumbled to his feet. The Killjoys talking around him like he wasn't there were immediately silent. He ignored them and stumbled towards the door.

"Whoa, whoa! Where do you think you're going?" and angry voice demanded. He felt Fun Ghoul's hand on his shoulder, stopping him halfway to the door. He flinched violently, remembering his dream.

"M-Meds…" he choked out, struggling to move again. His entire body was trembling. He felt like he was going to throw up or pass out. Maybe both.

A second hand on his shoulder, leading him gently back to the chairs. He sat down, the world spinning. It was like a tunnel of black was closing in. He saw Fun Ghoul in front of him, looking oddly worried.

He realized who was standing in front of him as the darkness closed in.

"F-Frank-" he managed to choke out before the tunnel swallowed him.

-x-

Ghoul watched in shock as Party passed out in front of him.

"Holy shit." He heard Jet say.

"How the fuck did he crash that fast?" Kobra demanded.

Ghoul knew. He remembered, when the band was in its early days, and Party was still drinking daily. When he was buzzed, he was buzzed for a long time, and it didn't take long to get him shitfaced. But when he crashed, he crashed hard into rock-bottom. The BLI medications had an even greater effect on him than the alcohol. It wasn't surprising he'd react the same way with those. It was just another part of his addictive personality, his ability to go from the greatest highs to the deepest lows in seconds.

And what had he said? His name? No. He must've heard wrong. Party didn't know him now.

But instead of explaining all of that, he just shrugged. "Beats me. Must be a side-effect of the pills."

"Well now it's going to be even harder to get him out of here." Diamond sighed.

"Was it ever going to be easy?" Jet gave her a small smile.

"Nope." Diamond returned the smile half-heartedly.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Ghoul moved back towards Kobra.

"I'm not sure." Kobra bit his lip, glancing at Party, "We only have two weapons, so fighting our way out is out of the question."

"What if we fought our way to a supply room, grabbed some guns, returned to get Party, and fought out the rest of the way?" Diamond suggested.

Kobra considered it, "Where's the nearest supply room?"

"Down the hall, to the right. I saw it on our way down here."

Jet nodded. "It could work. Ghoul, you could stay here with Diamond and Party. Kobra and I will go down, grab guns, and be back within minutes.

"That's assuming there's only a couple of dracs on the way." Kobra pointed out.

"Well yeah, but we won't know until we get there."


	28. Chapter 28

Jet and Kobra prepared to go out. Kobra made sure he had his knife. He loaded the gun and passed it to Jet.

"It's a miracle no one has come in here yet. Weren't we supposed to be executed?" Kobra smirked.

"It's BLI," Jet said grimly, "Plans change."

"So tell me again why we're staying in here?" Diamond piped up from her chair. She was sitting next to Party Poison, who was still out cold. Fun Ghoul was standing behind her, one hand on her shoulder.

"Well, one, neither of you have weapons. Tow, you two need to come up with some sort of way to carry Party and be able to shoot at the same time." Kobra half-smiled, "Good luck with that."

"You seem oddly happy." Ghoul commented.

"Just preparing for the coming adrenaline rush."

Jet test-fired the run at the wall. It made a large black burn mark, spot-on where he aimed.

"You ready?" he turned to Kobra.

"As I'll ever be."

-x-

Diamond watched them leave hesitantly. The doors must have been soundproof, because she didn't hear anything once it shut.

"So how are we going to go about doing this?" Ghoul asked.

"I'm not exactly sure," she stood up, standing in front of Party, "I think I might have a way."

It took some adjusting (and dropping him a few times) but eventually they had a system worked out. Diamond was on Party, left side, Ghoul on his right. One of his rams was around each of their shoulders. They each held on t o him tightly with one hand, leaving the other free.

"What about his feet?" Diamond looked at Ghoul.

"They'll slow us down, but whatever. This is what will work best."

Jet and Kobra burst back in, each one carrying two guns. Diamond noticed Kobra's hands and shirt were specked with blood.

"There weren't many." Jet handed Diamond a gun.

"I'm sure there will be more soon. Come on, let's go!" Kobra gave Ghoul a gun, which he took after wiping the blood off it with his shirt and a grimace.

"Alright, alright!" Ghoul groaned. He glanced at Diamond, "You ready?"

"Sure." She replied. They tightened their grip on Party and followed Kobra and Jet out, walking briskly. Diamond struggled a bit under Party's weight. It wasn't that he was that heavy-he was really quite thin. But he was still a full-grown man, and she was still a fifteen-year-old girl. That, plus her slight limp, was a bad combination, but she kept going.

They passed a few dracs, one of them no doubt killed by Kobra. Blood was running from several points on its body. Diamond shuddered.

When they turned a corner, the dracs were there . Jet and Kobra took down most of them as they moved forward. Ghoul and Diamond both fought, but had to keep an eye on Party, who could wake up at any moment.

Progress down the hall was slow, but still progress.

"We can't possibly wait for the elevator!" Ghoul shouted over the fighting.

"What are our other options!" Kobra screamed.

"Stairs!" Diamond yelled, "At the end of this hallway!"

"That means passing Korse's office! Jet pointed out."

"Oh like he hasn't been told we're out already!" Kobra said, "Keep going! To the stairs!"


	29. Chapter 29

Korse stepped into the elevator calmly, two dracs and the woman who had helped him deal with Party following.

"The command has been sent," a drac said, "The Killjoys will be executed immediately."

"Good." Korse smiled, pressing the button that would take them to the first floor.

"May I ask why you aren't going to make better use of them, sir?" the woman asked coldly.

"It's a waste of medication." Korse scowled, "Party Poison's brain activity shows the memory suppressants are fading fast, and the emotion elimination drugs are losing effect."

"So it's like he's building immunity to it?"

"Not exactly. The doctors explain it better, but from what I understand his brain continues to subconsciously fight it. It's been hypothesized all Killjoys will react the same way."

"So what do we do now?"

"We hope the drugs last long enough for him to be able to kill Fun Ghoul, Jet Star, Diamond Dahlia, and the Kobra Kid."

"And if the drugs don't last?"

The elevator doors opened. They stepped out, moving quickly through the small hallways until they came to the main room. They continued on through the doors. Korse noticed the floors were clean as ever, as if the Kobra Kid hadn't lost a great deal of blood in that very spot.

A BLI van waited outside, the engine already running. The doors slid open and Korse stepped in. The woman remained outside the van.

"Sir," she began, halting the doors, "You never answered my question."

"If the drugs don't last I've sent something that will keep them occupied for awhile."

"Sir!" a draculoid piped up, "It's been confirmed a massive number of Killjoys are on the move. They should be here in a day."

"Perfect." Korse smiled. "Just enough time." He turned towards the woman, "I must ask you to stay here. I need someone to monitor the situation here."

"Why can't you stay?"

"I have pressing matters at headquarters. I trust you can handle a few unruly Killjoys."

-x-

The amount of dracs dwindled quickly. Eventually they stopped coming out of nowhere and the Killjoys were able to pick up the pace to the stairs.

Kobra held the door open, shooting any trailing dracs as Jet darted down the stars. Ghoul and Diamond passed Kobra quickly. Kobra glanced at his brother, whose head was limply lolled to the side. He could see a shadow of pain on Party's face, whatever was going on in his head was unpleasant.

"Diamond, you go ahead with Jet. Don't wait for us, just get out of here. I'll help Ghoul get Party down the stairs." Kobra commanded. Diamond looked like she wanted to argue but, when she met Kobra's eyes, she simply nodded and gently unhooked Party's arm from behind her neck. Ghoul shifted to accommodate the extra weight. Diamond looked at Ghoul, her expression unreadable, before turning and darting down the stars.

Kobra hooked his arms underneath Party's as Ghoul slipped out from under him.

"Take his feet." Kobra instructed. Ghoul nodded and took hold of Party's ankles.

"Hurry. Let's go." Ghoul and Kobra made their way down wordlessly.

They reached the bottom of the staircase. Ghoul set down Party's legs. Kobra hoisted his brother up into his arms with relative ease.

"Why couldn't you just carry him down by yourself?" Ghoul asked.

"I'm not quite sure." Kobra smirked, "I guess I just didn't want to be left alone with my unconscious brother."

"How do you do it?"

"What, stay sane?"

"Yeah."

Kobra shrugged, "I just try to not think about it too much. I mean, I haven't been conscious for long, but whenever I think about it I just think that we're going to get him out of here. We're going to do that. And he'll be back to normal, and we'll be at the Diner, and I'll have a brother again."

Ghoul just stared as Kobra looked at the man in him arms. Party's face had become peaceful. It now looked like he was only sleeping.

"Did he know it was me?" Kobra's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Excuse me?"

"When he shot me." Kobra's voice was louder. Colder. "Did he know who he was shooting?"

Ghoul shook his head, "No. How could he?"

Kobra just looked at Ghoul. "I just have a hard time believing he'd shoot to kill. Even under whatever influence those drugs have him under."

"We'll get him back." Ghoul insisted, "For now, we just have to get out of here."

Kobra nodded quickly. Ghoul held the door open and they hurried down the hallways to the main room.

What they opened to door, what they found was a surprise.

Jet Star was on his knees, hands held behind his back, a gun to his head. He was surrounded by draculoids and-

"Oh God." Ghoul breathed. They had brought s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w/s.

The Scarecrow unit was BLI's latest project. The efficiency and reliability of dracs was painfully low. They needed a new line of defense. So one bald zone runner with a very fluffy shirt and a dream stepped up to the plate.

It was a relatively simple plan; robots with big guns. And so, the s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w unit was born. To that day, Ghoul still couldn't figure out if it was an acronym or if the slashes were just for show.

The scarecrows and dracs surrounded Jet. A woman in a dark black business jacket and pencil skirt stood near them, smirking. Ghoul looked around.

Two draculoids were dragging Diamond to the wall. At first Ghoul thought she was dead, but then he saw she was breathing. He also saw one of the dracs pocket and empty syringe.

They had drugged her. For a split second he saw bright red as white-hot rage tore through him.

"Don't you touch her!" he roared and lunged for the dracs. He hadn't taken more than three steps before being hit in the back of the head.

He blacked out to the sound of the woman's cackling.

-x-

Kobra saw Ghoul go down.

"No!" he screamed before being hit himself. Even when falling to his knees and losing consciousness, he instinctively held his brother close, curling his body to protect Party. The last thing he saw were Party's bright hazel eyes, alert and focused, staring into his own.

But he never let go.

He never let go of his brother.

* * *

(A.N. Well this was an exciting chapter. Cliffhanger~ Next chapter will be up tomorrow morning)


	30. Chapter 30

He was in eleventh grade. Seventeen. It was after school, a warm April afternoon.

He didn't really want to go home. It was a nice enough day, he had decided to sit behind the school, drawing. It was his favorite thing to do, he especially liked superheroes.

It was windy. He sat in the shadows, on the steps to the school. His long black hair blew around his face as he labored over his latest creation.

"Spaceboy," he muttered as a name for the character struck him. He jotted it down in the corner of the page before continuing.

Suddenly, his sketchbook was ripped from his lap. He looked up, three boys were standing above him.

"Hey fag," the middle one spat, "Is this yours?" he was holding the sketchbook.

He said nothing in reply, just looked at them with angry eyes.

"What'sa matter, fag?" the one to the right jeered, "Can't talk?"

"Dude, he's retarded," the one to the left smirked, "Of course he can't talk."

"Stop it," he muttered.

The middle one's eyes glinted wickedly, "What was that, fag?"

"Stop calling me that!" he yelled and stood up, snatching his sketchbook back.

"Why you-" the middle one's face twisted with anger. He drew back his fist and flung it forward, knocking him back onto the steps. The sketchbook flew out of his hands, clattering down the steps. The back of his head hit the cold stone hard and, as he tried to catch himself, he hear something in his wrist snap before pain shot up his arm. Blood spurted out of his nose.

They didn't stop. They surrounded him, kicking and jeering at him. He covered his face with his hands and curled up, praying for the end. One kick landed in his chest and he felt a rib snap. He coughed up blood.

"What's going on here?" he recognized that voice. The three boys stopped. Through the eye that wasn't swelled shut he could see his brother and another boy, probably one of his brother's friends. His brother was only fifteen but the other boy looked eighteen.

"We're teaching this fag a lesson." One of the boys spat.

"Well that _fag_ happens to be my brother. So hands off." Even at fifteen, Mikey had the stature of someone far older and the three boys stepped away, hurrying off.

"What a bunch of assholes." The other boy muttered. He saw Mikey hurry over, kneeling down in front of him.

"What hurts?"

"Everything," he moaned through the blood caking his throat.

"Okay. Just stay still. We'll get help." He turned to the boy, "Ray, why don't you just go home?" he suggested gently. The boy nodded and walked off. Mikey gathered him into his arms and began walking up the steps to the school, not caring about the blood that would ruin his favorite white Anthrax shirt.

"You're strong," he commented.

"Puberty does some crazy shit," Mikey smirked.

They were silent for awhile. Mikey walked quickly, but it was a big building, and the nurse's office was far away. No one was around, he assumed most of the teacher were outside enjoying the day.

"Mikey," he began.

"What?"

"Thanks." He felt his face grow how with embarrassment at his brother seeing him like that. But, under the bruises and blood, it wasn't very noticeable.

Mikey shrugged, "It's what brothers do." Their eyes met for a moment. They both smiled.

The memory dissolved. He opened his eyes. A blonde man was carrying him, screaming something. He felt himself falling, realizing it was the man's legs giving out. He felt the man's body curl around his, protectively.

The man's unfocused eyes met his. And he remembered.

Kobra Kid. Mikey. His brother.

He had shot his own brother.

He screamed.


	31. Chapter 31

Agent Cherri Cola tightened her grip on the wheel.

"Why are we going to the base again?"

"Because," Show Pony chimed from the seat next to her, "We need to make sure the guys and Diamond are there before we send a bunch of Killjoys on a rescue mission."

"And why are they with us?" Cherri looked back at the three girls sitting on the seat less van's floor. Emerald Breeze, Missle Kid, and Candy Surprise smiled up at her.

"We need backup." Pony answered, "And I like them. They're fun."

"How much longer?" Missle groaned, "My foot's falling asleep."

"A little over an hour." Pony answered.

"Why do you think Dr. D let us come with them?" Candy asked Emerald.

"We were the first ones to get to the Diner," Emerald smiled, "And, in his words, we 'put up with those idiots for a night."

"It takes courage to do that." Cherri said jokingly, "Courage and dedication."

"You've proved your worth." Missle smiled.

"But they were fun! At least until morning," Candy said.

"What happened in the morning?" Pony asked.

"A lot of yelling, " Emerald answered, "But things seemed to be okay when they left."

"Who was doing the yelling?

"Ghoul and Kobra."

"Figures," Cherri scoffed, "Those two are always at it about something whenever I'm around."

"Do they ever get along?" Cherri wondered out loud.

"Oh, sure." Pony answered.

"It's just, being with a set group of people, it can get on your nerves. You need to know there's someone out there besides you, and sometimes you forget to do that." Missle explained.

"They just don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things." Pony added.

"Mostly because Ghoul is so short…" Cherri muttered, smiling.

"Ouch!" said Emerald as she laughed.

"That was low, Cherri," said Pony.

"I know," she smirked, "But it's the truth."


	32. Chapter 32

When Ghoul opened his eyes, he was sitting up, back to the wall. Next to him was Kobra, out cold. On his other side was Jet, who was awake. He made eye contact with Jet, who sighed and looked ahead. Ghoul followed Jet's gaze.

Party and Diamond were across the room, both awake. The woman, flanked by two scarecrows, was standing over them. Her back was to Ghoul, he couldn't tell what she was saying, but Party and Diamond both looked scared.

Kobra stirred beside Ghoul. "What the-" he muttered as he opened his eyes, "What the hell happened?"

"Scarecrows." Jet answered grimly, "They brought in scarecrows. Now they're talking to Party and Diamond."

"What happened when I was out?"

"After you went down Party started screaming. He was saying he was sorry. He said your name, too."

"What, Kobra Kid?" Ghoul asked,

"No." Jet shook his head, "Mikey. He just kept screaming it. 'Mikey! No! I'm so sorry! Oh God Mikey!' Just that. Over and over. And when they separated you two he was hysterical. Just kicking and sobbing and screaming."

Kobra looked over and saw his brother's face was sad and scared. His eyes were rimmed with red from crying. He looked so young in that moment, like a child.

What had happened to his brother?

-x-

Diamond looked at the woman angrily.

"What do you want with us?" she demanded. Next to her Party sat, just watching the woman.

"We want you to join us." The woman smiled, reminding Diamond of a snake.

"Why would we even consider that?"

"Because if you don't, you'll die. You and all of your friends."

That got her scared. "Why us?"

"You're both so strong-willed. You would make such a good example. If you joined, then perhaps the outlaws-"

"Killjoys." Diamond cut in.

"Killjoys," the woman continued, unfazed, "will see how beneficial Better Living Industries can be. Nobody will have to die. The world will be perfect."

"But will it be beautiful?" Party asked softly. Diamond looked at him in shock.

"Beauty lies in perfection." the woman answered simply.

"It lies in color." Diamond snapped her head back up, "It lies in art. In freedom. Something this world will be sorely lacking in if you have your way."

The woman just smiled. "Fine. You've made your choice. Now your friends get to watch you die."

Diamond's anger was replaced with fear.

"Party, you were with us once. Wouldn't you like to come back?"

Party looked at the woman. He looked at Diamond. Her eyes begged him to refuse. He thought hard.

He wouldn't have to feel anything. He wouldn't have to worry. He wouldn't have to be in pain, or have to go through the dreams. He could have as much medication he wanted and live a quiet, safe, perfect life.

But then he looked at his brother. He saw the fear and pain on his face, knew it mirrored his own. His brother had saved him once. Now it was his turn to save Kobra. But how?

He looked back at the woman, a plan forming in his head.

"Alright." He said, "I'll come back."

"No." he heard Diamond breathe.

The woman smiled wickedly in triumph. "Excellent." She turned to the scarecrows next to her, "Help him up. Give him your weapon." The scarecrow obeyed, handing Party a ray gun. Party felt the cool metal in his hands, aware of what he would be asked to do.

"Give me your gun," the woman told the other scarecrow, who complied, "And take her to the center of the room. Make sure you keep her restrained."

The scarecrow, none too gently, forced Diamond up, shoving her forward. Diamond tried to fight, but it was no use. The robot was far stronger.

She looked desperately at Ghoul. He stared at her, desperate.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

She shook her head, tears falling down to the floor. She saw Ghoul look at Party, put two-and-two together. She saw the anger and panic in his eyes.

"No!" he yelled. The woman stepped next to her, smirking.

"We offered her a chance to join us. She refused, so now she will pay the price. This one, however," Party stepped forward, on Diamond's other side, "made the right choice. Gerard, you know what to do."

Party nodded. He stepped in front of Diamond, rising the gun to her head.

"Don't make a move, Fun Ghoul!" the woman barked. Party guessed he was trying to find some way to stop this.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself, glaring down at the girl.

"Party," she whispered, "Don't. Please."


	33. Chapter 33

He fired. But not before aiming at the woman's chest.

She was blasted back, blood flying from the wound close to her heart. Some of it hit Party, and the side of Diamond's shocked face.

She hit the floor with a thud. A sound of finality. The gun in her hand skid across the floor. Blood pooled around her as she gasped and choked for air. He had hit her lung.

The scarecrow next to Diamond ran, running for the hallway. Party shot it. It flew forward, sparks shooting out of the side of its head.

He looked for the other scarecrow, but that one had made it out, no doubt going to alert the others. They only had a few minutes.

Diamond rushed forward to Ghoul as he stood up, collapsing into his arms, sobbing. Ghoul held her close, whispering to her. Party could see he was crying as well.

Kobra and Jet stood, both staring blankly at Party.

"Mikey" Party stepped forward, "Ray. I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Jet closed the distance between them, pulling his friend into his arms. Party buried his head in Jet's shoulder, crying.

He stepped back after a moment, wiping his eyes.

"I'm such a baby." He chuckled.

"You're not a baby," Kobra insisted, "You just have a heart."

Party started to walk towards his brother. Kobra met him halfway. They fell into each other's arms, laughing and crying.

"I'm so glad you're back." Kobra smiled wide.

Doubt crept into Party. "Well, I don't know about that. I don't really know what's happening. Who you are," he paused, "Who I am."

"We can explain all that later." Jet said, "For now, let's go."

The brothers stepped away from each other. Party looked over. Ghoul and Diamond were standing together, holding hands, smiling.

"The dracs and scarecrows will be coming soon." Party said, "Let's go while we can."

They started to leave. Before they reached the door, however, the hallway doors crashed open. Dracs and scarecrows poured out, opening fire.

"Run!" Jet shouted. They did. Diamond was the first to reach the door. She pulled and pushed with all her strength.

"It's locked!" she screamed.

"Then fight!" Kobra turned around, grabbing a gun from a fallen drac, taken down by Party.

They charged.

"Stay here!" Ghoul commanded Diamond.

"NO!" she argued, "I'm fighting with you!"

They had to time to argue. "Fine!" Ghoul said, "But stay close to me!"

The fighting took a long time. The scarecrows were tough to kill. After thirty minutes, the Killjoys stood in silence.

"Anyone seriously hurt?" Jet called out.

"I don't think so." Kobra said.

"Nope." Party shook his head.

"I'm fine." Ghoul shrugged.

"Same here!" Diamond chimed in.

"Good. Let's go." Jet turned to leave, "I'll just try shooting the lock and if that doesn't work I'm sure we can all-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a ray gun being fired. Diamond Dahlia's cry of pain filled to room as she clutched her side, dark blood spreading over her white t-shirt fast. She crumpled on the ground. Ghoul was immediately at her side, gathering her into his arms.

The three remaining Killjoys looked in horror at who had pulled the trigger.

The woman smiled wickedly. Blood covered half her face and nearly all of her chest. There was a trail of blood showing how she'd crawled across the floor, found a gun, and propped herself up. Three guns were pointed at her in an instant.

"Go ahead." She laughed, a deep, sick cackle, "Kill me. But it won't save her."

"No," Party said coldly, "But it will send you to hell."

He fired. The wound in her head leaked blood as she dropped, finally dead.


	34. Chapter 34

_I'll tell you all how the story ends_

She felt herself fading fast as Ghoul held her, his tears silently falling into her hair.

_Where the good guys die and bad guys win_

It was as if she were floating, being pulled from the warmth of Ghoul's arms, from the safely of his embrace.

_This ain't about all the friends you made_

But too many people had already died because of him. He wasn't about to let her be one. He would give himself up, if only to let her live.

_But the graffiti they write on your grave_

"G-Ghoul" she managed in a strangled whisper. Sobs of mourning wracked his body, making him tremble.

"Diamond."

"I'm n-not going to die."

"No. You're not. I won't let you."

"But I'm so tired."

"Then sleep, honey. You'll be fine when you wake up. It'll be okay."

"Promise?"

He'd already promised her so much. What would happen if he made too many promises?

_We can leave this world, leave it all behind_

_We can steal this car_

_If your folks don't mine_

_We can live forever_

"Promise"

_If you've got the time_


	35. Chapter 35

After a few moments she whimpered, "Don't let them get me."

"Let who get you, sweetheart?"

"The shadows." She whispered, scared, "Don't let them get me. They want to take me away. I don't want to go. I want to stay with you, with my family. Don't let them touch me!"

"I'll never let them hurt you, I promise."

"Good," she sighed, content. "They won't touch me, as long as you keep them away."

Kobra, Jet, and Party only stared, afraid to speak.

"The shadows have changed."

"Have they?"

"Yes." She whispered, exhaustion plain in her soft, broken voice, " I see momma. And papa. I suppose he died, too. How sad."

He couldn't say anything. His quiet sobs cut off any hope of speech.

"They're in a parade."

His eyes made contact with hers, shocked. Her soft brown eyes met his green, showing the pain of an adult in the face of a child.

"A parade?"

"Yes," she smiled weakly, her own tears falling now. She looked to the side, pointing. "Don't you see them?"

He didn't. To comfort her, he lied.

"I see them, dear."

"Isn't momma pretty? She always loved dresses."

"She's beautiful, just like you."

"But I don't want to go. Maybe someday, but not today. Please don't let them take me."

"I won't. Just sleep, darling. Everything will be okay."

"Ghoul?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Her eyes shut. Her labored breathing slowed, became peaceful.

"I love you, too."

* * *

(A.N. Next chapter will come out at midnight. And when I say its not for added dramatic affect...it is.)


	36. Chapter 36

Jet was the first to move. He put a comforting hand on Ghoul's shoulder.

"Let's go." He said gently, "The sooner we leave, the sooner she can get treated."

Ghoul sniffled a bit, nodding and standing up, holding the girl in his arms. "You're right. We should hurry." His face was hard, brave.

Party shot the lock. He tried the door. It opened easily.

Fresh air whirled around the Killjoys. They breathed in deep and stepped forward, leaving the blood and carnage behind them.

For some reason there was a sense of peace as they strode on silently, heading for the road. They were finally going home. Wherever home was.

A white van pulled up as they neared to road. Agent Cherri Cola stepped out, followed by Show Pony, Candy Surprise, Emerald Breeze, and Missle Kid. Immediately, Missle ran for Party. He caught her and held her close as she laughed.

The Killjoys smiled weakly with relief.

"Party!" Show Pony was the first to speak, "Glad to see you're okay!"

As he put Missle down it was clear that, based on Party's face, he had no idea why a man in a belly shirt, polka dot leggings and roller skates was speaking to him.

"Show Pony," Kobra explained to Party quickly, "One of your friends." He turned to the others, "He's a bit more than out of it right now. Give him a few weeks."

Pony nodded, "Understandable."

"We can talk later," Cherri said, noticing Ghoul and Diamond, "Get her in the van. Emerald, there's a first aid kit and defibrillator under the driver's seat. Get that out for me, please." Emerald nodded and hurried back into the van. Candy followed her.

"Pony," Cherri continued, "you drive. You four," she looked at the Killjoys as Emerald came back out, taking Diamond from Ghoul, who was hesitant to let her go but did, "take the Trans Am to the Diner. Dr. D is worried about you guys."

Jet nodded. "Do you still have the keys?" he looked at Ghoul.

Ghoul felt in his pockets before producing a key. He went to give it to Jet, but Jet shook his head.

"I said you could drive, didn't it?"

A smile broke across Ghoul's face. The white van sped off quickly, kicking up dust as it headed back to where it had come from.

Silent again, the four walked a bit through the settling dust before spotting the Trans Am, parked where they had left it. Ghoul get in the driver's seat, Jet took shotgun. Kobra and Party got in the backseat.

As the car roared to life, Party felt happiness strike him for the first time in a long time.

"Well are you ready, Ray?" he called from the backseat.

"Yeah!" Jet laughed.

"How 'bout you Frank?"

"All night, baby." Ghoul smirked.

"How 'bout you Mikey?"

"Fuckin' _ready_!" Kobra chimed in.

"Well I think I'm alright!" Party said, smiling wide. "Let's go home."

The Trans Am pulled forward, turning around and following the van towards an early California sunset.

For one night, it seemed, all would be well.

_**The End**_

(A.N. And that's it, I suppose. At least, for this story. I'd be perfectly happy to provide a sequel if you want me to. But, for all intents and purposes, _Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back_ is done.

A special thank you to all of my readers, new and old. You are all amazing and wonderful and I want nothing more than to shower you with coffee and hugs. An even bigger thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. Your unicorns are in the mail.

Until next time, Killjoys. Keep running.

-Erin)


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